The Big Transition
Growing up, my parents worked hard to instill in me core Christian values. Values like honesty, respect, and integrity. I grew up in church and was always very involved, so learning these values seemed to be all around me. Naturally, as I grew up, my faith became very important to me and was something I actively pursued. When it was time for me to go to middle school, my parents were very uncomfortable with the idea of me going to the local one. They then made the decision to transfer me into the Christian school that partnered with our church, Fellowship Academy. I was NOT happy with this decision. I wanted to go middle school with all of my friends, but my parents, and God, had a very different idea.
Once I got over their decision and cut the dramatics, which was a matter of weeks due to my 12 year-old girl nature, I fell in love with Fellowship. My six years there became some of the most wonderful years of my life thus far. I made incredible friends, got to lead multiple sports teams, and did well academically. I cherished my time there and grew into the person I am today. Someone who works hard to achieve her goals, someone who is loyal to her family and friends, and someone who believes that love above all things is what matters the most.
When junior year came around, I began to think about the next step: college. That was a terrifying word to a 17 year-old. My sister, Grace, is 3 years older than me, so I had indirectly gone through the whole college preparation experience through her. This, of course, was nothing like going through it yourself. I knew I wanted to major in business but had zero clue where to go. I researched the top business schools in Texas and two schools stuck out, McCombs and Mays. I knew FORSURE that going to the University of Texas was not an option. Being from Arkansas, I’m a huge Arkansas Razorback fan, I know hissssssss, right? So once I ruled out McCombs, I started researching Mays Business School at Texas A&M. I knew nothing about A&M but decided to give it a chance.
Over the next few months I went to a few programs at Mays for potential students. I fell in love with Mays and Texas A&M and by the end of my Junior year was ready to apply. I got accepted that next September due to the top ten rule and was thrilled! After getting over the expected excitement, reality set in. I would be transitioning from a graduating class of twenty-two students to a school with almost fifty-thousand students. Wow. Naturally, I was extremely anxious about this next step in life.
The transition turned out to not be as dramatic and challenging as I thought, but was still very shocking. Walking around campus knowing absolutely no one, living with someone I didn’t know, and making all of my own decisions was a huge change. After fish camp, I started to get involved in an organization called PREP, a business organization for freshmen. Once I plugged in with that, I felt as if I had found my place at A&M. That organization inspired me to eventually apply for more leadership positions in other organizations such as FBI and Fish Camp.
Twenty-two students to fifty-thousand is a dramatic difference for anyone. In high school, I was one of the most outgoing people in my school, and at A&M I am just one of many outgoing people. This was a harsh reality to figure out. This reality did not cause me to change who I was or adjust myself to fit in. All it did was help me realize that regardless of who I am compared to other people, I am me and that is just fine. It took me a few months to come to this conclusion, but once I finally did, my world became a lot bigger and better. I am grateful for my experiences from high school and am even more grateful that these experiences equipped me with the ability to successfully transition into college.
Growing up, my parents worked hard to instill in me core Christian values. Values like honesty, respect, and integrity. I grew up in church and was always very involved, so learning these values seemed to be all around me. Naturally, as I grew up, my faith became very important to me and was something I actively pursued. When it was time for me to go to middle school, my parents were very uncomfortable with the idea of me going to the local one. They then made the decision to transfer me into the Christian school that partnered with our church, Fellowship Academy. I was NOT happy with this decision. I wanted to go middle school with all of my friends, but my parents, and God, had a very different idea.
Once I got over their decision and cut the dramatics, which was a matter of weeks due to my 12 year-old girl nature, I fell in love with Fellowship. My six years there became some of the most wonderful years of my life thus far. I made incredible friends, got to lead multiple sports teams, and did well academically. I cherished my time there and grew into the person I am today. Someone who works hard to achieve her goals, someone who is loyal to her family and friends, and someone who believes that love above all things is what matters the most.
When junior year came around, I began to think about the next step: college. That was a terrifying word to a 17 year-old. My sister, Grace, is 3 years older than me, so I had indirectly gone through the whole college preparation experience through her. This, of course, was nothing like going through it yourself. I knew I wanted to major in business but had zero clue where to go. I researched the top business schools in Texas and two schools stuck out, McCombs and Mays. I knew FORSURE that going to the University of Texas was not an option. Being from Arkansas, I’m a huge Arkansas Razorback fan, I know hissssssss, right? So once I ruled out McCombs, I started researching Mays Business School at Texas A&M. I knew nothing about A&M but decided to give it a chance.
Over the next few months I went to a few programs at Mays for potential students. I fell in love with Mays and Texas A&M and by the end of my Junior year was ready to apply. I got accepted that next September due to the top ten rule and was thrilled! After getting over the expected excitement, reality set in. I would be transitioning from a graduating class of twenty-two students to a school with almost fifty-thousand students. Wow. Naturally, I was extremely anxious about this next step in life.
The transition turned out to not be as dramatic and challenging as I thought, but was still very shocking. Walking around campus knowing absolutely no one, living with someone I didn’t know, and making all of my own decisions was a huge change. After fish camp, I started to get involved in an organization called PREP, a business organization for freshmen. Once I plugged in with that, I felt as if I had found my place at A&M. That organization inspired me to eventually apply for more leadership positions in other organizations such as FBI and Fish Camp.
Twenty-two students to fifty-thousand is a dramatic difference for anyone. In high school, I was one of the most outgoing people in my school, and at A&M I am just one of many outgoing people. This was a harsh reality to figure out. This reality did not cause me to change who I was or adjust myself to fit in. All it did was help me realize that regardless of who I am compared to other people, I am me and that is just fine. It took me a few months to come to this conclusion, but once I finally did, my world became a lot bigger and better. I am grateful for my experiences from high school and am even more grateful that these experiences equipped me with the ability to successfully transition into college.