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- By Michelle Ramirez
- Trail Staff Writer
I can still remember the sting of the wounds inflicted on my delicate, post-high school heart as I drove away from my hometown for the first time.
I had a seven-hour drive ahead of me, alone with nothing but my thoughts. My only comfort being my cell phone tucked carefully in the console next me, ready to console me when I felt I could go no longer without speaking to someone.
I remember thinking, am I ready? Am I smart enough for college? Can I do this without my family by my side? The answer was clearly no, yet I still drove on. There goes Casper, then Shoshoni, then Cody and suddenly I’m here. I’m in a town where I know one person, barely, seven hours away from my family, friends and my beloved boyfriend. I have to share a room with a girl I have never met before. I have to make new friends. I have to start all over.
Underneath all the stress and anticipation of moving away to college, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of excitement. Having never lived in any other place than Cheyenne, I was looking forward to exploring uncharted territory.
I realized there are certain benefits to moving to a town where no one knows you or your reputation. Like a clean slate, smooth and untainted. Now is the time where I define who I am as a person.
I have already puked in a public toilet, floated down a river in a semi-permeable flotation device, been asked for my underwear and eaten the best Mexican food I have ever tasted. The bad experiences by far outweigh the good ones and yet I am still here. I haven’t given up yet because I know that things will eventually fall in to place.
At least that is what they tell me. I decided I am going to be strong. Strong and independent like I was back home. Confident and proud of who I am. Although my college experience thus far has destroyed almost every ounce of confidence I stored up throughout my life, I plan to reclaim all of my dignity and then some.
In my short experience here at Northwest College, I have learned that no one is going to run and pick you up when you fall. Now is the time in your life when you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue on your way. Remedy any bumps and bruises along the way with life’s simple pleasures (whatever they may be) and always strive to do better even when you totally suck.
If that little scrap of enlightenment is all I walk away with at this year’s end, I will consider it a successful year. If I make it without attempting to rip every hair out of my head, that’s a bonus.