Boom. College.

Why did I decide to go to college? I think there were a lot of reasons behind this. First off, it was what everyone was doing. I considered taking a year off before going, but was bombarded with the "if you don't go now, you'll never go back to school" comments. Those royally pissed me off. I ultimately went to college to continue competitive cheerleading. Cheering at the U of M was always one of my lifelong goals.

I don't regret my decision. It was an experience I needed to have to grow. Since I went to college not knowing what I wanted to do, I ended up throwing away a lot of precious money. I did some soul-searching my first year, and then ended up set on Physical Therapy. A year and a half into that, they changed it to a Doctorate program. No way in hell was I going to school for 8 more years. At that point, I stopped caring and my grades dropped. I felt kind of lost. I ended up changing my major to Nursing and moving back home. I'm glad I did, because it's so much cheaper.

Since my father owns a business, I had always considered working for him instead of going to college. It would've been a smart choice money-wise. I'd probably already be married with a child, though. That's not exactly what I wanted for myself at the age of 23. I know for a fact that I would've excelled in his business. He wanted me to take over his spot when he retired, meaning I'd own my own company. That was always a thrilling idea. I am so happy I didn't agree to that, though. College gave me the experience of living on my own and making my own decisions. I needed that to grow and become who I am today. I'm upset that I owe a lot of money, but I am so thankful that I was able to go to more than one good college and experiences things everyone should experience at that age. I'm proud of myself in ways. I'm where I want to be right now. I have a wonderful job, and I'm applying for something that I know I want to do.

<3

In ways, college made me become an adult. I was able to check off one of my lifelong goals. I had wanted to cheer at the U of M since I was five years old. Maybe what I did was a backwards way of moving forward, but I'm happy that I am where I am. I mean, if I never went to the U of M, would I have had my lifelong crush, Goldy Gopher, propose to me in front of thousands at a basketball game? I think not! (I still blushed like I did when I was five years old and he gave me hugs)