I always knew that I wanted to create my own path.
I wasn’t the type of person to go to the same school as my siblings or pursue the same profession as my parents. Whatever I was doing, I wanted to pave my own way and throw myself into something completely new and unfamiliar.
Choosing a school was no exception.
Unsure of the future
I knew I wanted to go to a school within a few hours of my hometown, but that’s where my criteria ended. Needless to say, this left a lot of options, which resulted in countless weekend road trips to visit schools across the Midwest.
Since I didn’t have a vivid idea of what exactly I was looking for in a school, the majority of my decision was based on my intuition and gut reaction to each one I visited. As I continued to visit more, I enjoyed each school, but none sparked any excitement in me.
That all changed when I was scrolling through various college websites and landed on missouristate.edu.
Met with an image of a sparkling fountain, the star of their beautiful campus, I felt a sense of anticipation. The next day, I booked a Missouri State campus tour.
Discovering my home
My excitement continued to grow during my campus tour. As I walked through Plaster Stadium and the North Mall, I felt at home and eager to take on the many opportunities I knew would be waiting for me if I went to school here.
It was a new place, a place none of my family had ever even visited before, and I was ecstatic at the possibility of calling it my own.
As time went on, various college acceptance letters arrived at my home, and I was excited by each of them.
But when my acceptance letter from Missouri State arrived, I was over the moon. My parents recorded videos of me jumping up and down while reading my letter, capturing the moment I realized that I had finally found my home for the next four years of my life.
Freshman year has highs and lows
While my excitement never faded, starting the school year was terrifying.
I knew no one coming into college, and felt extraordinarily vulnerable. I always had a hard time adapting to new situations and finding my people, and I feared that college would be no different.
While it took some time to overcome various challenges, not to mention getting sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I eventually found my place at Missouri State.
Finding my place at Missouri State
I discovered people who I connected with and challenged me to be my best self. I pursued various leadership positions that allowed me to make a positive impact on my campus, and learned about myself in the process, including discovering my passions, career aspirations, and values.
I truly believe that the growth I have experienced in college would not be possible without Missouri State. I have always said that Missouri State has the perks of being a big school, with fun football games and big events, while also having the benefits of a small school, where you constantly run into friends and feel at home.
It has everything I could have wanted in a school, and I can’t imagine spending my college years anywhere else.
Go Bears!