Everyone dreams of attending that one college that will be their home away from home, and I was no different. I remember being so excited in junior high that I would be going off to college, but did not want to wait. Little did I know, I would not be hearing back from a few schools that would eventually lead me to my true home away from home: Brenau University.
My sophomore year, I met a Brenau Alum and she would graciously talk up Brenau, but at the time, I was looking at attending the University of Oklahoma. I was unaware of their $50 application fee at the time, but before I even applied to the possibility my senior year, my number one had been switched to the University of Miami. You see, I wanted a school with a great athletic department because of an athletic and competitive past.
Miami had remained my number one, but the admissions department for some unknown reason could not find my entire application, so it was deferred by the university. I began to apply to several other schools all across the nation for this reason. From the University of California–Los Angeles to the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, I kept hearing nothing or that my application was declined.
As a result, I officially decide to apply to Brenau. I honestly did not expect to hear anything back, but when I got my acceptance email and package within two weeks of applying, I knew I made the right choice. Waiting to receive my package was probably the most grueling part of the entire application process, so that should have been my first clue that I chose the right place for me. However, I did not quite notice I had chosen the right school for me until I first arrived on campus in August and cried at the Opening Ceremony and Gold Refined by Fire. I honestly do not see myself being any happier anywhere else, and for that, I am most grateful that I have found my true home away from home.