I believe in the importance of trusting myself — my instincts, emotions, thoughts and even my fears.
The growth of this belief has been a long process, and over the past couple years at Penn State I’ve realized the importance of trusting myself more than ever.
I did not start my college career at Penn State. Ever since my sophomore year of high school, I knew I wanted to study at Emerson College, a school in Boston known for its journalism program.
I was absolutely ecstatic to have been accepted to my dream school with a scholarship, and before I knew it, I was moving in. Classes seemed to be going well and I even became a correspondent for the school newspaper.
But everything was not as great as it seemed — I had a hard time making friends and I was in a community where money was not an issue, and this was not the case for me.
I started becoming less and less happy in Boston, and I felt myself losing interest in things I used to love. I was rarely interested in taking photos and writing stories, two of the things I was most excited to do at school.
As my parents started to notice I was not acting like their happy, excited, journalism-crazed daughter, they suggested Emerson may not be the right place for me.
I was absolutely mortified at the thought that my unhappiness was related to my environment, as I never thought I would end up anywhere other than at Emerson.
Being my father is a Penn State alumnus and I have gone to many Penn State football games throughout life, my dad thought it would be a good option to look into.
I was skeptical and terrified at the thought of transferring, but after coming down for the Rutgers game that fall, I was more open to the idea.
When my dad and I came for the game, we set up a meeting with the College of Communication’s recruiter, Emily Clevenger. As she told me more and more about their journalism program, I slowly realized this could actually be a good idea.
Over the rest of my time at Emerson, I reluctantly applied to Penn State and was accepted within a couple of weeks.
I was absolutely terrified. My parents thought the decision was obvious, but I was so scared of making a wrong choice again.
Obviously, I decided to come to Penn State, and it is by far the best decision I have ever made.
I was in a situation I was not happy in and I started doubting myself, who I was and what I wanted to do. I made a quick, scary decision, and my life is so much better for it.
Your first instincts may be wrong, but you are feeling them for a reason and I believe it is imperative to trust that — especially after I wholeheartedly doubted myself.
While this was one of the hardest experiences I’ve gone through, I learned so much from it and came out a stronger person. I know who I am and what I want, and I learned one of the most important lessons you could — trust yourself.