When I first heard about Northwestern, I have to admit I was a little (really) intimidated. As I sat in one of my most challenging classes and faced one of the most serious, albeit routine, inquisitions into my planned collegiate pursuits, I couldn’t even picture myself removed from the environment surrounding me. It’s not that college wasn’t an option, it was just an overwhelming concept at a time when the likes of chemistry and American History were taking their toll on my confidence and self reassurance. So, it did little to remedy my situation when one of my presumably “smarter” classmates very confidently added to the discussion that he was hoping to attend Northwestern and become a doctor. (It was all in the way he said it.)
As for me, in the tenth grade I didn’t have a definite idea of what I wanted to study — at that point “journalist” was but one of many possibilities, and I certainly hadn’t begun my list of prospective colleges, let alone zero in on one specifically. Not that there is a problem with such early aspiration (in fact, a great portion of my intimidation at his response was characterized by an unfortified respect for his ambition). So although at that point I knew very little about what Northwestern had to offer, I hardly considered it a viable option for my future.
Thankfully, I proved myself wrong. Through the course of two years of hard work and a few truly inspiring high school teachers later, the personally deemed unreachable became a precise and determined goal, which has now been transformed into an awesome reality. So, with my bags unpacked (I’m here! Such a perk of being a student athlete), finances arranged, and a summer’s worth of hard work filling my wallet, I’m finally prepared to embark upon a journey which at one point I didn’t even think I belonged.
And as I sit here at my new desk with all my new teammates, I’m beginning to realize the gravity of the accomplishment that we all have made. “Northwestern University” is no longer just the answer to the question “Where are you going to school?” Rather, it will slowly become who I run cross country for, where I study journalism, involve myself in various activities, meet people, make friends, explore new ideas… and the list goes on and on, I think. So, with every new ivy-covered building I explore, “Northwestern University” becomes less of a dream and, slowly, more a part of my life: where I will become the person that shy sophomore didn’t realize she could be.