Life In the City

I haven't written in quite a while, but that's because I've just been super busy. Life has gotten so hectic recently and I've decided to write about it! The first super awesome cool thing that has happened to me since July was that I got a tattoo. I'll write a whole separate post on that but it was such a cool experience. The next amazing thing that has happened has been starting college. I am currently going to Temple University and it has been such a big change in my life.

I grew up in a super small town that is off the map and unknown to nearly everyone, it is only known to few. All my life I knew that I wanted to live in a huge city because I love the diversity and the people you can find in an urban setting. The town that I grew up in was your typical small town full of republicans who all that the same ideas and opinions and were scared of the thought of leaving "the valley" as we call it.

My town is a mixture of druggies and rednecks which is absolutely wild and definitely not the type of place I wanted to stay for the rest of my life. I fell in love with urban life when I visited New York City for the first time when I was around 7. I was astonished by the huge buildings and vast amounts of people that I could see roaming the streets. My family isn't too fond of city life so we never returned and I was devastated. My next encounter with urban culture was in sophomore year when I went on my class trip once again to New York City. The day was so magical and I would have cried leaving if it wasn't for the fact that I would be returning the next week. I was apart of the select choirs at my high school and we were taking a trip to NYC to work with Broadway performers and explore the city. It was such a unique experience that for me was once in a life time. I got to see my first Broadway performance on this trip, Phantom of the Opera. It was absolutely incredible, and this time when I left the city I did cry.

After this was when I finally got to experience my now home, Philadelphia. In my junior year of high school my choir was asked to perform at the Liberty Place in Center City. I paid and was able to go on this trip and experience the city once again, along with being invited back in my senior year as well. It was during this time that I was exploring different colleges and had started thinking about where I would want to go to college. My first college thought was Arcadia University, in sophomore year, but that was quickly scratched off my list when I remembered that it was not in the city. I became very interested in Temple University after that and I set it as a goal to get accepted there and attend it for college. I spent countless hours researching about Temple and it very soon became by first choice for college.

My parents learned about my interest in Temple and were concerned with the safety of my top choice school. They kept putting it down and did NOT want to send me there. It ease my mind and try and convince me not to go, my mom took me on a college visit in my senior year. As soon as we got there, my mom wasn't a huge fan of the city, but I could tell she was as hooked on Temple as I was. We got home and immediately I sent in my application, despite my dads pleas not to.

Months passed and I hadn't heard back from Temple, but I took another trip to Philadelphia with my choir, this time to the Wells Fargo Center to sing before the 76er's game. Later that month I got a response back from Temple telling me that I had been wait listed. My heart was shattered and I couldn't stop crying, since I was convinced that I would never get into my dream school now!

Almost 2 months later was when I finally got an answer. I was leaving for work and a notification from Temple University popped up on my phone as I was turning on my music in my car, about to leave my drive way. I stopped what I was doing and checked the message. Now, this could have ended really badly, especially if I had not gotten in. The news was good there and I instantly just burst into tears in the middle of my driveway. I got out of my car and ran inside to tell my parents the good news. They were just as excited. Evidently, that day I was quite late to work, but when I got in and told my boss and everyone else the good news that delayed my arrival, they couldn't help but be happy as well.

Things were pretty boring after this but I was really excited to move to my new home in Philadelphia. The summer was painfully slow but soon enough I was packed up and ready to move into my dorm. I got there and I couldn't believe that it was really happening. The first week was filled with misdirection and getting lost every time I stepped out the door, but pretty soon I figured it out.

Fast forward a few months and here we are. I am almost finished with my first semester in college and it has absolutely blown my mind. I am so happy that I picked such an amazing school. I have gotten to meet so many awesome people and I have had such amazing experiences, even so early in my college career. I actually just signed on an apartment which I never thought I would actually do.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that if you put the work in, anything is possible. I fought for what I wanted and now I am not only living the life of my dreams, but so much more than I could have imagined. The possibilities are really endless as long as you put your heart into what you want. Since moving in to college I really have grown so much as not only a person, and a student, but as an adult and a girl in searching of herself and and awesome career.

The Philadelphia Skyline from campus