Flipping carelessly through a college pamphlet had become so normal at this point in my life. The strangely soothing sound of turning pages relaxed my stressed mind. There was nothing particularly unique about this summer afternoon. The wind was blowing through the trees, the bees were buzzing, and the world was still spinning as far as I could tell. I was not prepared to for this routine day to turn into one of the more meaningful ones I’ve had thus far.
As I lay in my hammock, I saw a shadow in the corner of my eye. My mom was coming out of the house with two glasses of water and a smile on her face. I found this fairly strange, because she usually never comes outside simply for pleasure on weekdays; she was always too busy working. I sat up as she came near and moved over so she would have room to sit. She came over and handed me my glass and took a seat. We said nothing for a while, just simply sat and enjoyed the nature around us because it truly was a beautiful day. She turned to me and told me that she had come out here for one reason and one reason only; to talk about college. She told me a story about how all she ever wanted to do was go to college as far away from home as possible. She didn’t care where the school was, as long as she had to get on a plane to get to it. But during her college days, she couldn’t help observe how rowdy kids in isolated college towns were. There was absolutely nothing to do but drink all the time. When you put young college kids in an environment where there is no social outlet other than the school, you’re just asking for trouble. When kids get bored they get awfully creative. This being said, her final point was that I shouldn’t go to college in an isolated area away from a major city. I didn’t take her advice to heart, I simply just sat there and ignored her and continued to drink my water indignantly. I couldn’t understand why she sharing all of this with me. This was HER life, not mine. Her experiences would have nothing to do with the future outcome of mine. All it took to change these thoughts was another very important conversation.
The summer going into my junior year I worked with a girl named Ashley at a day camp. Ashley was several years older than me, so I naturally assumed she was in college. However, I come to find out Ashley was a recent college dropout from Colgate University. To say that I was stunned would have been an understatement. I couldn’t believe someone as smart as Ashley would willingly leave such a prestigious university for no reason. I was naturally curious and asked Ashley why she had made such a rash decision. She told me that she couldn’t handle the constant and seemingly never ending partying of her peers. Colgate is in Hamilton, New York and is infamous for being incredibly dull and boring. Being so isolated from everything, the students always resort to drinking or other forms of tomfoolery. She had decided that it wasn’t worth staying in college. Hearing this was like getting hit on the head by a ton of bricks. I couldn’t believe my mom’s seemingly pointless advice was coming back to me full circle! I finally understood what she had been trying to tell me. Going to an isolated school is simply a recipe for disaster and disappointment for those who don’t seek that kind of college experience. That day I truly accepted my mother’s advice, and hoped that one day it would steer me in the right direction; the direction of my dream school. This realization jumpstarted my mind into thinking about what I wanted in my future school now that I know what I definitely don’t want. Do I want an urban area, a large campus, a small campus, large diversity? All of these questions came pouring into my mind relentlessly. When I got home that evening, I settled down in my favorite chair and opened my college brochures again: only this time with a more refined eye.
