For the past year, all I’ve heard about is college, college, college, and the thought of it has always scared me. I really do like learning a lot. But the focus never seemed to be on learning, it was always talk about growing up and getting involved and starting Real Life, and that’s what scared me.
But being here has made that inevitable future a little less terrifying. See, I really like my town. It’s a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I think that where I live has the best of both worlds: the comforts of suburbia, but with a lot more diversity. It has personality — the houses don’t all look the same, and neither do the people. It’s not perfect, but it’s home, and I wouldn’t want it to be any different.
But this week taught me that other places can feel like home, too. Other people can become friends. And I can open up and be a part of something.
As Wasim Ahmad pointed out this week, my shyness is like a switch. Most people aren’t as astute — there are tons of people I’ve known forever who see my shyness and think that’s all there is to me; who are shocked when I express anything that indicates something more than just a timid, quiet personality. But for some people, that switch turns off. I always thought that I would never be able to open up to new people, and that’s really what terrified me about college. That’s not scary anymore, though, and that’s pretty great.