With my first year of college quickly coming to a close, I have been reflecting a lot on the past 10 months of my life. The transition from living at home with your family and being in high school to living on a college campus and taking classes with professors with top degrees in their fields is huge. For some people this transition is extremely difficult, but for others it seems almost natural. I’ve learned a lot over this time, both inside and out of the classroom. I expanded my academic and worldly knowledge, I became comfortable with branching out, I grew to appreciate my family so much more and I came into myself. I discovered that being away at college can be the best and worst thing in the world but it is an experience I am incredibly grateful to have and I wouldn’t change a single thing about my first year.
Clark is very different than other colleges and universities in the country, and I am so glad I am here for that reason. This campus is full of all types of people with so many different stories, experiences, thoughts, and opinions to share. Everyone is here with the main goal of educating themselves at the highest level, and students on this campus are so supportive of each other’s endeavors. It’s extremely empowering to be on a campus where everyone wants to see each other succeed and do well with their lives. As I come to the end of my first year, I can honestly say I am positive this school was the right choice for me.
In such a short amount of time, I have made some of the strongest relationships I have ever had in my life. This year has given me an unlimited amount of good times and memories surrounded by amazing people. From my teammates on the field hockey team, to the inspiring and beautiful mentors of All Kinds of Girls that I worked with this past semester, to the professors I connected so deeply with, to my best friends that I rode this rollercoaster of a year with, I am positive that these relationships will last forever.
This has undoubtedly been the fastest year of my life, full of ups and downs and obstacles where I least expected them, all which I steadily learned how to overcome. In the grand scheme of my life, four years is actually a very insignificant amount of time, and I am beginning to realize that the rest of my time here is going to fly by. Before I know it, I will be walking across the green to receive my diploma, surrounded by all of my family and friends, and I will have to say goodbye to this place that I currently call my home.