I came to Fredonia with one goal: receive a degree. But I have gained so much more since I was a freshman.
I’ve recovered pieces of myself that I didn’t know needed to be healed. When I came to Fredonia I was a girl struggling to accept what death had brought to her life. I lost my mother in the early stages of being a teenager and was then raised by my older brother. I always felt behind in life, as if I was being left out of one of the biggest secrets to life. And I was.
I was missing my mother to give me guidance that no one else could. But when I came to college I was able to learn for myself the pieces that it would take to succeed in this new step of my life. I went to class, I did my work, and I made friends all while I grieved the death of my mom.
Unfortunately that’s life. Death happens every day and it’s inevitable. As sad as it is to say, death made me a better person. I know what it’s like to be on my own and to feel what it’s like to be dependent on only yourself. My four years in school have been some of the best years yet. I’ve made incredible friends who will be in my life ’til I die. I’ve experienced a love that is unlike the unconditional love I get from family; a love that is there not because it has an obligation but because it wants to be. I’ve furthered my career from the amount of knowledge I’ve gained. Though I still haven’t gotten any closer to where I want to be after this four-year journey ends in May, I know that everything I’ve done was worth it.
When I leave Fredonia, the only feeling I’ll have is fear. My whole life has been about school; I’ve never done anything else, so what do I do now? On the bright side, I’ve come to accept fear as being free. I am free to do what I want, wherever I want and that is a very satisfying feeling.