Thinking back to my ATP last March, I remember being so excited to finally have my Big Red ID card, so I could show my friends back home that I was officially a WKU student. I had already signed up for classes and was eagerly awaiting graduation, the final step before I could move onto to something bigger and better. Sure, I was going to be waking up early four out of five days of the week in the fall for Calculus at 8 in the morning, but I was looking forward to it because a GSP (Governor's Scholars Program) friend would be there with me. I was told of the limitless opportunities I would have while at WKU. There were tons of clubs to join, a wide variety of classes to take, and a potential new friend in every direction I looked.
During the drive back home, I realized that I would have to suffer through high school for a few more months, completing a portfolio that would never again be opened, and counting down the final days with my friends. Now do not get me wrong, I was not miserably trudging through my last days as a senior; I enjoyed spending time with people I would probably never talk to until our 10 year reunion, and relishing in the fact that life would never be that easy and stress free. Although I had a super long summer ahead of me - WKU was one of the last colleges to begin in the fall - and I wanted to be there at that instant, I did not feel that sense of belonging that had always been with me in my small hometown. Of course, I felt at home at WKU, but I could not yet call it my home. When would that change? What could possible happen over the summer that could transform me into a "college student"?
I cannot exactly describe the process, let alone find a fitting title for it, but I do know that I am no longer the same person I was when my high school principle shook my hand, smiled, and handed me my diploma. For my story, the drive away from home, leaving my mom, who would soon be crying; my sister, who was indifferent, although glad to no longer share a bathroom; and my stepdad, who would miss me, but didn't like to admit it; subliminally marked a new chapter in my life. Never again could I return to Brandenburg, KY the same person as everyone in the entire town knew. I was ready for the chance to prove to the world, but mainly myself, that I could do just fine on my own.
I asked a few of my friends, who are also in colleges across the state, what they thought had changed them from high schoolers to college kids. Most agreed that returning home for the first time was when it truly sank in; "...and while it sank in that I was really in college when I went home the first time, it came back and smacked me in the face over winter break when all I wanted to do was be back in my room on campus and with my WKU friends." I agree one hundred percent. The six week winter break seemed like an extremely long time away from Bowling Green, the place most of us were now referring to as our "home" in regular conversations. Returning home and spending time with high school friends is also a shock to some. You really notice how much you have grown up and changed when you compare yourself to the group you used to hang out with. Another widely agreed on source of change is freedom. I think one friend said it best when she told me that, "There's something about being entirely independent from your parents and being able to make your own choices 24/7 that makes you a college student. Sure, you can party every night, and it's ok if you're able to maintain your GPA. That doesn't happen in high school."
As you get closer to saying good bye to high school and hello to college life, know that the change does not happen over night. You will not wake up and magically be transformed the first time you sleep in your dorm room bed. Growing up takes time and living on the Hill is the perfect place to do just that.
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