Viva Las Pennsylvania?
As a sophomore in high school, my dad started pushing me to be interested in colleges. I remember being so annoyed, college felt like a far distant future, why would I be interested? So, as a joke to appease him, I started with pictures of colleges that had castles, thinking they would be nonexistent or abroad. Lo and behold, Arcadia’s Grey Towers Castle popped up, and I fell instantly in love. I read up on the school and the castle itself and felt like it would be a good fit. This small college has tons of history, a beautiful campus, and an amazing abroad program. What more could you want? I quickly became very interested and no longer resisted the idea of college.
As a girl from Las Vegas, the trip was a scary thought. I went from living in a dry, hot climate to a state that experiences all four seasons. This was my biggest fear and greatest excitement. Walking through campus and experiencing the changing of the leaves and snow for the first time? I couldn’t be more excited. It felt symbolic, like I was entering a new season of my life, literally and figuratively.
However, the thought of moving across the country was still so daunting. Not only was I entering a new chapter of my life that is inherently scary, but also moving an entire 6-hour plane ride from my entire family. Las Vegas is known as the city that never sleeps with its bright neon lights, hotels and casinos, and it’s night life. The city always feels alive, no matter where you are. Late-night drives are beautiful, filled with mountains in the distance and a still heat that never goes away. That’s all I’ve ever known, and it was incredibly comforting. I knew who I was and where I was.
Coming to Arcadia, I had to start a new chapter in my life where I didn’t have everything figured out. I was entirely alone in this move. Things started to turn around when I expanded my circle at school. I started speaking with people in my hall and made friends who are my roommates today. I also joined the UKnight Dance Team in my first semester, which was so much fun and really pushed me out of my comfort zone. But in these scary first college steps, I found an opportunity to reinvent myself and discover new parts of myself.
Arcadia isn’t just a beautiful place with tons of history. But a family, one that you build and make for yourself. Not just through friends, but the connections you get to make with your professors, staff, and the people who become a part of your daily life. College is incredibly scary, so is moving, no matter the distance, for my roommate, who lives 20 minutes away, to me, who lives 2,472 miles away. But the distance, for me, represents growth and independence.
I miss Las Vegas, and I miss my family, but I am so grateful for the experiences I have had at Arcadia and the people I have met. What started as a sarcastic Google search for castles turned into the beginning of the next steps of the rest of my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
