COLLEGE; my thoughts and the college I'm attending

As painful as it is to write, back to school season is officially back. I'm pretty sure Target has been a little too excited because the back to school section has been out since June. Anyways, it's time for late night study sessions, early mornings, pop quizzes and the occasional tears. As thankful as I am that high school is over, I couldn't be more excited for college.

Before I go into detail about all things college, I just wanted to say that this whole year has gone by so fast. First you start senior year with an idea of what you want to do in your future and where you want to go to school (if you choose to go to college after high school), then you start applying and writing countless essays for scholarships, then ultimately decide where you want to go to school, and BOOM. Congrats, you've finally grow up and now you have to figure out life by yourself in a completely new environment surrounded by strangers. Welcome to college.

College for me is full of new opportunities, finding yourself and what you want to do for the rest of your life and the people who will help you get there. One door opens and another door closes. Goodbye high school and hello college. Finally getting to explore classes that you have interest in and can actually use in your future is so exciting. I'm ready to jump into my future and start a career I love.

For my future college freshman, I'm sure everyone can agree with me that right now, everything feels so surreal. The summer has gone by incredibly fast and we're all coming to the realization that the time has come to finally be on our own. Now's the time where we have to figure out what we want to do for the rest of our lives and learn how to adult (but learn by ourselves because where else would we learn to adult? Thanks high school!). Home is going to seem so far away, but soon enough we will create our own new homes.

In just a few short weeks, I will be attending Colorado State University (CSU). I am over the roof excited, but just as nervous. I feel like I still have so many things to do before I go, and move-in is creeping up so fast. Honestly, thank goodness for social media. It's been so easy to communicate with people that are also going to CSU and getting to know them before I travel over 520 miles to my new home. Even though I don't have all of my dorm stuff bought, at least I have friends I’m going to school with to vent to about it.

At CSU, I will be majoring in Health and Exercise Science with a concentration of Sports Medicine. I'm planning on going to medical school to become a sports medicine physician, so for as far as I know, I'll be in school for forever, but that's besides the point. You're probably wondering why, out of all of the colleges, and one that is over 520 miles away, did I chose CSU? Well I'll tell you.

CSU has so much history and it makes it that much more interesting and such a fun school to want to attend. Everyone in Fort Collins seem to be the nicest people ever, the whole campus and town is all about sustainability and saving the environment, CSU offers the program I want, and who doesn't love the beautiful state of Colorado? I've visited Colorado every year for as long as I can remember and it has always felt like home. With all of these factors, CSU happened to be the perfect school for me. Even on my visit last summer and at orientation, all of the staff and students on campus are so welcoming. I went on a few college visits before visiting CSU and the vibes and atmosphere there do not compare to any other colleges.

Finally finding a college that fit me was like that one friend or even tv show that you didn't think you would ever find but are so thankful that you found. It has everything you were looking for, it gets you excited, and gives you something to look forward to.

For as much as I’m gonna have to pay for school (over the next 12 years), I’m hoping my time and experiences are memorable. I’m so excited to wear green and gold, but especially on game days and cheer on the rams. College is going to be a blast, and I'm so excited to start the next chapter of my life at Colorado State!

The only way I can end this post is with a very special song that will sum up the next 4 years of my college experiences:

Today's Blog Post Bop:

"Young Dumb & Broke" by Khalid

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Tag, you're it!,

Ariana J. Bagley