Dear present me,
She always knew that was the school, but she didn’t quite know how to confirm it. At the time when she first discovered the school, college wasn’t even something that she was thinking about; she was attending college visits for her sister.
But, something about this school piqued her interest, yet she couldn’t figure out what it was. Something about this school was different; it had something that all the other schools she visited didn’t quite have.
And, as soon as high school rolled around, college was the last thing that she was thinking about. Amidst all the AP classes, clubs, and work consuming all her time, there was no time to wonder what the next four years after high school would look like, let alone where it would be.
But, even then, the past versions of herself always knew that she’d come back to this school. And she did, and when she finally attended the school for the second time with a fresh perspective, it was at that moment she knew that this school was the one; it was always the one.
No other school could convince her that “this was where she belonged.” No matter how much money other schools threw at her or gave her in scholarships, she knew that the one school she always felt was the right one for her in her heart, was the place she would spend the next four years of her life.
And it was, and as soon as she knew, it didn’t matter what the other schools had to say, or what colleges she still needed to visit. This school was always the one, no matter what.
Because, for the first time in her life, she was in the midst of the known.
For the first time—she was in the midst of the known—she had found some sense of direction in her life. Most importantly, she was happy. She didn’t feel like she had to live her life according to the bylaws of someone else’s timeline; she was living in the moment.
She’d have a fresh start at a college that would allow her to experience school from the beginning, instead of in the middle, not like how high school was.
As much as she was going to miss high school and all the teachers who got her through it, she didn’t want to repeat the experience in college. For the first time, she’d have a fresh start in an area, completely brand new in the eyes of the world she’s created around her.
A new school, a new place, a new era of her life, in an area where she didn’t know anyone; it was everything she had ever dreamed of and more. She couldn’t have been more content. This was the school for her and that was that.
Despite all the blood, sweat, and tears that it took to reach this pinnacle point in her life, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Because, for the first time in her life, she was in the midst of the known, and she was going to spend the next four years of her life being a rocket at the University of Toledo.
Sincerely,
Present me.
