The Top Three Things I'm Most Excited About For College

So to follow up my last post about the top three things I'm going to miss most when at college, I thought I'd highlight the three things I am most excited about (because obviously even though I'm going to miss things I'm super excited!). So here it is:

BU and SED

Hey there, Kenmore Square

Have I told you how excited I am about SED? If you answered no to that question then you obviously have not been paying attention.

The People

I've been around the same people my entire life. For the most part, all of the people that I've been around have been the same type of people. There's nothing wrong with this, it's just the way that it is. This is obviously due to the environment. We have all of have grown up in the same place with the same influences for the most part. This makes us all pretty similar, no matter how much we hate to admit that. 

I can't wait to get out and experience new types of people. People who came from different backgrounds and grew up in a different environment. People who see things differently than I do and come from a different place than me. City people and country people. People from around the nation and people from around the world. But mostly...just for some new people. And so many of them!

(Plus, all of the people I've already met are completely splendid and I'm excited to meet many more just as spectacular!)

The Classes

I love learning! I just really do! And college is so cool because there are so many cool classes to take! And I get to take classes that I'm passionate about and that I choose to take! Ones which will help me with my career! And how cool is it that I get to start going to schools for ED100 right away?! So cool, just like SED and BU!

The Activities

Hey SED TM program, I'm looking at you. Besides that, what about all the clubs and sports. And watching hockey games of course!

A New Beginning

As I mentioned, I've been in the same place with the same people for my entire life. My town is about the size of the Freshman class at BU, my county about the size of BU undergrad. There are about five towns that comprise Summit County, totaling a population of about 20,000. There are six elementary schools which feed into one middle school and one high school. This means that I've gone to school with all the same people since I was either five or eleven. This is definitely not something I love. You can never get rid of the person you were when you were five, or what kind of kid you were at eleven. Maybe you talked too much when you were five, or you had a lisp at eleven. So that's the reputation you're stuck with. That mistake you made when you were thirteen? It never goes away and you can never get rid of your baggage. This makes for a really hard and often painful adolescence. When all you want to do is be the person you know that you can be and spread your wings and fly it sucks to be chained to the ground and weighed down by judgmental and mean teenagers who never forgive or forget. 

So I reach my biggest point of excitement in going to BU: a brand new beginning. The closest person I will know once I move to Boston will be 217 miles away. I never have to tell anyone about those painful memories that I can't stand to have brought up and never again have to hear someone call me that awful nickname my Chemistry teacher called me. I finally have complete control of being exactly who I am and who I want to be without the weight of the past dragging me down. It's finally time to takeoff from the launchpad I've been waiting on for all of these years, so here's to "infinity and beyond!"

The City and Independence

Let's review. My county has 20,000 people in it. BU alone has 20,000 people in it. The most exciting thing there is to do at home is go to Target. At BU I'm going to have an entire city of entertainment at my doorstep. I could not be more excited.

I'm never going to be bored again. There is simply so much to do! And I can do it all! Because I'm going to be on my own and independent and able to do whatever I please! What a great feeling!



Now to finish out this poorly written and scatter brained article, a Dr. Suess quote: "You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."

What are you most excited about for college? Let me know in the comments section! And as always, share this with your friends if you liked it and if you want to!

About Finding My Rhythm

Singing in my car along to all my favorite songs is one of my favorite things to do, but only when the music is loud enough that I can't hear myself. Simply put, I'm not a singer. I tend to speak the lyrics instead of sing them, I lack rhythm. I've been told this by multiple people and those comments put the seed into my head and sprouted its roots, making me too self conscious to ever let anybody hear me sing, even if it is just in the car along to the radio. The other night as I drove a friend home, a classic song came on and we both started singing along to it. After the song ended I laughed and apologized for my terrible singing voice, explaining that I don't have any rhythm and using that as my excuse. He shrugged it off and told me that all I needed to do was practice and that I would find my own rhythm along the way.

This message struck me in more ways than one. I decided to take it both literally and figuratively. Today, as I drove around town running errands I decided to give it a shot. I decided to practice my singing with the music at a volume that allowed me to hear myself. At first, it felt a little strange and I cringed at the sound of my own voice. However, after a few songs I began to sound better, or maybe I just began to feel more comfortable. I felt like I was really singing, and not just speaking. I felt like I had found my rhythm.

To parallel this, I feel like I have found my rhythm in life lately. I could call it a lot of things--rhythm, niche, place--simply put it relates to what makes me happy. This summer has been one of self loving and self discovery and it is exactly what I have been needing. I've spent time with people I love and stopped worrying about those who aren't worth it. I've worked like crazy and enjoyed feeling close to the people I spend my days with and savored the feeling of purpose and hard work. Recently, I've discovered a lot of things that make my heart soar and on the top of that list is Boston University.

Boston University is the next verse in my song and it feels as if the rhythm of my life flows there without missing a beat--I made the right choice. Being able to say that makes me proud, because it wouldn't have been achieved if I hadn't worked hard and never given up on my dreams. I applied to ten schools which were scattered from Boston, to Denver, to Seattle. I could have ended up anywhere, studying anything, but in the end I'm going to BU and I know that if I'm Cinderella, it's the glass slipper, It's the window to my dreams and my fairy tale ending. I visited Boston for the first time when I was eleven years old and my loquacious, blonde, ever-confident self firmly stated "I'm going to live here when I grow up". Nothing is more exciting to me than seeing myself reach that dream, and eleven year old me--as well as eighteen year old me--couldn't be prouder (or more excited to be a Red Sox fan and a Terrier!). I think that this is all part of finding my own personal rhythm. Knowing that I worked hard and got where I wanted, knowing that I made the right decision and knowing that I'm marching to the beat of my own drum in whichever direction I choose--because I can.

We all have the option in life to turn up the music louder to block out our sound because somebody else told us to. We can listen to the voices that we already know are good and be too embarrassed to let our own be heard. Or, we can break free. We can turn down the volume of all of those who bring us down and find our own rhythm, belting it out for the world to hear.

As the wise Dr. Suess once said: "You've got brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in whatever direction you choose!"