I believe in new beginnings. For the last fifteen years I’ve lived in the same house, attended school with the same friends, and played the same sport. In August, I plan to pack up the few belongings that are my very own and move 250 miles away to start all over. I’ve never been more comfortable where I am; I have worked carefully and meticulously over the years to create quite a large security blanket for myself. At this point in my life, I have everything I could ask for. Yet I still plan to leave it all behind in three short months to attend college and see where else life can take me.
In Robert Frost’s intelligent words, “taking the road less traveled will make all the difference” and that’s exactly what I plan to do. I could have decided to live at home, attend Arizona State University, and stay in the comfortable world that I’ve grown up in. Instead, I plan to move away from family, friends, and everything I’ve known to create a different path for myself. I believe it is a real test of character if someone can start over and make the very best of a new situation. In the early 1900s, millions of immigrants came through Ellis Island in New York to find a new life. These people weren’t necessarily leaving a bad life behind; they were just ready for something new, something that could provide new opportunities and new experiences. At this point in my life, new opportunities and experiences are exactly what I need.
For too long, I’ve lived in the bubble of Ahwatukee, with the same people doing the same things. For the next four years, at an elevation of 7000 feet, in the clean, crisp mountain air, I will call Flagstaff, Arizona my home. As excited as I am to start something new and be on my own, I’m terrified. For months I’ve worried about everything that could go wrong. What if I miss home too much or what if I don’t like Flagstaff as much as I thought I would? But even with all the doubts I do have, I have decided that it’s better to try and fail, than fail to try.
A new beginning is understandably a very scary journey to embark upon. Whichever way it works out, positive things are bound to come from this decision. I know I could never regret trying something new, something that was so far out of my comfort zone, because at least I know I tried. I took the risk; I did something that was just for me to see what I could get from it. This new road might be longer or a little bumpier, but at this point in my life, it’s exactly what I want.