When I committed to Florida State University, I didn’t want to go. I never visited it. I never thought of it. I never really wanted it. It wasn’t even on my list of top five colleges. As conceited as this sounds, FSU was my safety school. Honestly, though, I was an ignorant high school senior having to make a huge life decision at the measly age of 17. I am now a 20-year-old junior at FSU, and I look back at 17-year-old me knowing her rocky relationship with FSU was only going to get worse.
I remember sitting in my high school history teacher’s class complaining about everything wrong about FSU: the mascot, the lack of diversity, the Greek life, etc. Although some of those might be what certain people love about FSU, it was as if this school was holding a giant “DO NOT ENTER” sign for me.
You’re probably wondering “If you seem to hate it so much, why did you choose it?” Well, before I can answer that, you need to know three things about me.
1. I dreamt of going to film school.
2. I loved politics.
3. I had no freaking clue what I wanted to do in life.
My two interests were completely different. I applied to FSU as a Political Science major because it was my backup major for my backup schools. In hindsight, putting two Plan Bs together made it more like a Plan F, so of course I wasn’t going to enjoy myself.
Now, knowing these three things about me, I chose FSU for two reasons. Tallahassee is the capital of Florida, which means that there are better government connections, and FSU has one of the best film schools in the country. I assumed I could just easily change my major into film. LOL, nope! When I realized how ambitious people in the film school were, I realized I didn’t have that drive. I was already burnt out from all the film school applications I completed my senior year of high school that I didn’t want to do anymore in college.
Then, I was a freshman at FSU. I didn’t live in the dorms because I didn’t fill out my housing contract on time since I didn’t think I was going to attend here (I even put a deposit at another university!). Ultimately, I was defeated, burnt out, and lost in life. I hated FSU with such a passion that I wanted to leave. I hated that it was so big. I hated that the extracurricular activities I wanted kept rejecting me. I hated the people. I hated the city. I hated everything.
But then, winter break rolled around. My family helped me get back my spirit and motivated me to continue. I went back spring semester with a fresher attitude and decided to actually show up to (most of… well, some of) my classes. My friend from high school asked me to live with her for sophomore year and I started to finally look forward to something.
Through my new apartment and new roommates, I found the cool things about FSU that I would’ve never found on my own, stuck in my room. I found the energy of a tailgate. I actually went to a football game instead of judging the people who went. I met diverse types of people and personalities and realized that not everyone was a carbon copy of each other. I was shown the beautiful parts of campus and how the vibes on Landis Green after 6 p.m. feel like peak college.
FSU and I have been through all the stages of a love-hate relationship: the almost-breakup, the intense hatred, and the fierce passion. But now, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’ve never been prouder to be a Nole!
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