To put it shortly, the College of Charleston has utterly changed my life. In high school, life was incredibly monotone and I felt like my life was going nowhere. But now that I have experienced one and a half semesters at CofC, I feel that my life has never had more purpose. I have truly established myself here, and I’ve never been happier or more motivated. However, my initial feelings toward going to school here were quite different from what I feel now.
My CofC story starts with rejection; to be straight to the point, CofC was not initially my first choice for college options. I had my heart set on going to Boston University to study marine biology. My want for getting into BU kept me up at night and haunted me in my sleep- along with haunting me the same amount during the day. I would tell myself that BU was the only school for me and that no other school could ever make me happy or academically challenged.
I was extremely distraught after receiving my rejection letter from Boston University, and I felt like a complete and utter failure. As someone who was an excellent student and had great extracurricular activities, it really hurt to be rejected because I was left with the impression that what I did was not enough. But the terrible thing is that BU is what started the train of rejections.
The following weeks brought more rejections and waitlist placements from the schools that were next on my ranked list of options; including Duke, the University of Miami, and Northeastern. Once again, I felt like a failure. It was painful knowing that getting all A’s and being involved with multiple extracurricular activities was not enough for me to achieve an acceptance from a school that should have been attainable for me.
At this point in time, I had two acceptances: Eckerd College and College of Charleston. These were my safety schools- therefore, they were not my first choices. But it was either those two schools or going to my local community college to wait out a transfer application to Boston University. I knew, however, that I wanted a real college experience, so going to community college was out of the question.
I chose to commit to the College of Charleston because I felt more connected to it than Eckerd College. I also felt that if I went to Eckerd, I would have been locked into studying marine biology and would have had an issue switching my major. This is mainly because Eckerd’s specialty is marine and environmental science, not humanities. I was having issues with choosing my major because I love environmental and animal science, but I also love to write and partially wanted to be an author and/or journalist. With CofC, I did not feel locked into just one major; I knew I could switch if I wanted to.
Even though I committed to CofC, I was not particularly thrilled about it. I mainly chose to attend because my options were so limited. I was miserable from all of my rejections to the point where my commitment to CofC did not excite me. This is how I felt until I started my roommate search.
Meeting my roommate online was the first spark of excitement that I felt for the upcoming semester; she was so similar to me in that she too is an introvert and she gave amazing vibes. Talking with her over the summer gave me something to look forward to since I wanted to meet her in person so badly. This spark in me grew even more when I got to talk to the rest of my suitemates after our room selection. We would send each other room decor that we wanted and funny meme tapestries- which all college kids know is a must. I started to realize just how exciting it is to be on my own and be able to have so much freedom in decorating our space.
When I was being moved in, I was dreading saying goodbye to my parents since we are from the northeast and I would be living far away from them in South Carolina. But the first week of my arrival was not a hot mess of tears like I thought it would be; I did not even cry once. CofC was incredible with making the transition as smooth as possible since they had a plethora of “Weeks of Welcome” events.
I knew that my suitemates were my people when one of the first things we did together was watch Twilight– which is a very niche thing to do for a bunch of strangers who had just moved in together. Little things like watching movies together and participating in the “Weeks of Welcome” events helped us all get closer and form a community. Having this group of friends ultimately helped me stay calm and sane throughout my transition process. They gave me something to look forward to every day, and something to fall back on when I was stressed. I genuinely had no idea that we would all click so well, but it all worked out to my surprise.
It did not take me long to ease into academics, either. My professors were incredibly supportive and very aware that their students were still adjusting to campus life. Because of this, they were very flexible and if I ever needed anything, they were able to accommodate me. Furthermore, because I was attending a safety school, I was initially worried that the academics would not be challenging enough for me. But now that I have experienced almost two semesters at CofC, I can confirm that the academics are truly top-notch.
The professors are incredibly intelligent and experienced, which means that they know what they are talking about! They are excellent with passing on their knowledge of their field and providing a class that is both challenging and captivating. Because my professors were/are so passionate about what they teach, I have unlocked new passions and interests myself that I did not have before. I had a professor in my first semester who taught history like she was telling a story, and this made me fall in love with history all over again since taking IB in high school made me despise history. Were there rough days where I wanted to break down and cry from stress? Absolutely. But there has never been a single time where I have absolutely dreaded going to class. CofC has essentially helped me ignite my love for learning again.
CofC has also allowed me to join other communities that share my passions; one of which being an organization called College of Charleston Dance Alliance. In the first semester, I felt that my artistic side was lacking tremendously. For those who have read my “Your Body Standards Don’t Matter” article, you may know that dance is something that I’ve had issues with in the past. But I had really wanted to get back into it, and I wanted to be able to take dance classes without having to be a dance major. Dance Alliance has allowed me and other CofC students to take dance classes (and teach them) without having to be a dance major. It has resparked my love for dance and my artistic side has never been happier!
On top of the community and the academics, I began to fall in love with the city of Charleston as well. As a New Englander, I do not do too well with heat, and I was extremely worried that the Charleston weather was going to be the death of me. But to my surprise, I acclimated extremely well and began to love the warmth. However, the rain and the flooding at the start of the semester was not easy to navigate! I have also fallen in love with the city itself; not only is it not so bad to look at, but it is incredibly rich with history. I feel so fortunate to be able to live right in the heart of the city as not only is it historic, but it is incredibly artistic. Charleston truly feels like my home, and it will always hold a special place in my heart no matter where I choose to live in the future.
Based on my College of Charleston experience, I think that it’s safe to say that rejection leads you to where you are truly meant to be. Clearly, I was meant to go to College of Charleston; and at first I was in denial about it, but now, it feels incredibly right. I would not change the course of my life for the world because it ultimately led me here: into a state of happiness that I have never felt before. Rejection had torn me down so that College of Charleston could build me back up to be bigger and better than I was before. I have the most amazing support circle, I get to take incredible classes, and I get to live in one of the greatest cities in the US. I have to pinch myself sometimes because I am so in love with my everyday life and the opportunities that College of Charleston gives me.
So after reading this, take my advice: follow the path that life lays out for you- even if it’s not the one that you initially wanted. Sometimes what we think might be best for ourselves at a given time may be completely wrong. Some choices are completely out of our hands and up to the universe. But in these times, trust the universe, because you will always wind up where you are meant to be; and maybe that will be the College of Charleston!