Post Classifieds
The journey back to "The Right Choice"
By Colleen Young
On September 12, 2012
Hi Bengals! I'm Colleen, and I'm happy to be back at Buffalo State after a semester away.
I started college last fall with the wrong mindset. In fact, I went through my whole first year of college
with the wrong mindset.
I expected much more than what I actually experienced at college. I thought there was going to be a
welcoming parade for me and people lined up to be my friends. Though I did meet such nice people
here at Buffalo State, they weren't in the form of a line.
I was sad I wasn't going to all the football games with a crowd of friends like I had in high school. I
was sad the teachers didn't know my name like they did in high school. But I was mostly sad that while
sitting alone in the library, there weren't more than maybe five people who would walk by in the course
of an hour that I'd recognize. Even the people that I did recognize were just familiar faces from class,
no one that I could run up to, hug and be excited to tell about my new dress.
Yes, college was different from high school but that's an idea I should have been more open to. I
expected to know everyone on campus and have a tired arm from waving to all my friends as I walked
to class. My experience was quite different, so what did I do to fix it? I wrote an opinion article.
After it was published, I received wonderful support from the dean of students, Charles Kenyon. He
helped me find activities for commuters, like myself, and events I could attend to make friends.
Instead of taking advantage of new opportunities, I only thought about how embarrassing it would be to
go to the events alone. So, I didn't attend any of them.
Driving to school, attending class and sitting alone at a table in the library every day doesn't make for a
good recipe to meet people.
I felt alone and discouraged, so I decided the grass must be greener somewhere else. Away I went to a
new school for the spring semester, switching my major, attending another "New Students Orientation"
and huge classes filled with even more people I didn't know.
I was still discouraged, lonely and frustrated. I felt like college was just the most depressing thing I'd
ever done, besides all the times I've left my packed lunch at home. That's pretty sad too.
I was so lost and didn't know what to do. I thought switching schools would fix everything, but it
clearly didn't. So what was my next proud decision? I looked for my next new school!
I went back to school applications and visits, considering four different schools for this fall. I had no
idea where I wanted to go; I just knew I didn't belong at that school, a feeling I was very familiar with.
So as I filled out forms, I decided to picture my dream future. What did I want to do "when I grew
up?" I wanted to be a broadcast journalist, which is what I originally wanted to study at Buffalo State. I
started to get back in contact with friends I had met here my fall semester. I came back to visit a couple
times and found myself picking up a re-admit application, just to keep my options open.
As my response letters arrived in the mailbox, so did a very welcoming letter from Buffalo State. I had
the invitation to come back here and start fresh, knowing this was the best school in the area for my
major. This is the school that cared and reached out to me when I didn't feel welcome, and this is the
school I came back to visit and reconnect with when I didn't know where I belonged.
So here I am, back where I started, with a new mindset. My eventual career goal is my priority now.
Though I'm still looking forward to meeting people and attending games this year, I want to be open
to new experiences and the idea of college being so different from high school. It may not be easy for
commuters to get involved and make friends, but it's well worth the effort.
I want my journey from school to school, filled with applications and visits, to be an example for
others. Sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side. I should have stayed here and made
the most of it. Now I've been given the chance to try again.
This is a new school year, a new beginning, and things will change. I'm excited to be back and I know
that Buffalo State is my right choice.
Colleen Young can be reached by email at youngcolleen56@gmail.com.
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