This past year has been a lesson in learning that things are never impossible. It is possible to survive moving away from home and its comforts. It is possible for a New Yorker to have fun in Cleveland. It is possible for a BSGE graduate to completely switch gears and become an engineering major.
None of these things were particularly easy to learn, however. I felt ready to return to my parents forever when early in the first semester, I had a terrible ear infection that required a visit to the ER one night. I spent a few hours crying on the phone with my parents, partly because of the pain and partly because I realized adults have to take care of their own health. I eventually got the help I needed and even better, began a friendship with one of my best friends when she accompanied me to the hospital and bought me ice cream afterwards.
While it is often hard being on your own, it is also incredibly fun. I like being able to decide what I do and when I do it. Being totally responsible for every detail of your day-to-day life is exhilarating. After only a year away, I feel a little more comfortable with the prospect of growing up. However, you soon learn that being on your own is not an endeavor actually undertaken on your own. The people I have met at school are, simply put, fun. There is always someone planning a 3 AM adventure. A friend is always around to make doing copious amounts of homework amusing. Furthermore, I now have a support network of college and high school friends spanning half the country.
I remember how I felt a year ago, in the weeks leading up to graduation. Panicking about leaving the school I had attended for what seemed like a lifetime, I began doubting all the decisions I had made. Was I absolutely sure I wanted to study engineering? Why did I think it would be a good idea to move to Ohio? The big changes that lay before me were extremely frightening. I don’t think there is a way to make them less so, but I have found that the terrifying decisions were the most rewarding. I have not regretted them for a second. Right now, I cannot wait for the next few years and what else I will discover is possible.
The BACC Rag 