One Week to Take Off!!!

Anybody who knows me or even just follows me on Pinterest knows that I love love love Dr. Seuss, specifically his book, Oh, The Places You'll Go!. My senior year of high school, I revisited many of Seuss's books and I immediately felt a connection with that particular one because it was, and still is, extremely relevant to this period of my life.

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own.  And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

I was having a hard time deciding where I wanted to go to school. I had three great universities as my top schools, each with their own pros and cons. As I was thumbing through this story each page seemed to provide me with more clarity. With this, I realized that nobody could make this decision for me. As a naturally indecisive person, making hard choices was kind of a foreign concept because I always had somebody who could essentially make the decision for me. However, this time the choice was 100% mine to make. My parents trusted that I knew myself well enough to figure out exactly what I wanted in a school. After a lot of though and research, I decided High Point University was the perfect fit for me. So, in August of 2013, I took off for a school approximately 1,110 miles away from home where I didn't know a single soul.

You'll be on your way up!

You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll join the high fliers

who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.

You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

I fit in right away at HPU because I met some really great people right away who were in a similar position that I was. I gained so much confidence from living away from home and attending school somewhere I wasn't seen as just somebody's little sister I had been during my years at Highland Park. I got to make a name for myself in this small, tight nit community. Because of this, I didn't have to worry about living up to anybody else. I got to set the bar for everybody's expectations of me. My grades are much higher than anything I could have imagined in high school due to my stress level being so much lower. 

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...

be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

I didn't think things could get any more perfect after first semester, but after I got a bid from Kappa Delta and this incredible opportunity of studying abroad with the School of Education presented itself, I have been floating on cloud nine. I am so incredibly blessed with people and opportunities who allow me to grow and better myself as an individual. A few weeks ago, I came to term with the fact that I take comfort in familiarity and I'm going to be very far out of my comfort zone for the next few months. This trip is going to be a mountain, but the view from the top is going to be spectacular. I can already tell!! 7 days till Oxford!!

xoxo
SG

p.s. shout out to everybody (specifically my parents, sisters, KT, and Amanda) who have had to deal with me and my boredom/complaining over the past few weeks... y'all are gems and I'll be out of your hair soon!!