The year is 2014 and I’m walking the halls of North Harford Middle School, fantasizing about when I’ll be older and can confidently drive my car into the high school parking lot. Getting a license and being an upperclassman seemed ages away, but little did I know it would be here faster than a scene can be cut. There I was, the night before my first day of high school, laying out my clothes and counting my blessings, hoping that NHHS could bring me some sense of purpose. And with a final vision of an All Time Low poster, I closed my eyes. At the call of action at 6AM the next day, I’d be thrown into a whirlwind of new relationships and experiences.

First scene in 3…2…1… Action!

I can remember it distinctly: walking in the front doors of the school wearing a My Chemical Romance shirt and fringed, hole-filled shorts, sporting heavy eyeliner, and probably listening to Fall Out Boy on my iPhone 4. I walked around looking at everyone from behind my bangs, thinking that I was super edgy and that “no one understands me,” but if I knew now what I knew then, I would have had a totally different mindset.

Scene 2 is where I found out where my passions lie, in following my heart through my writing, no matter what anyone tells me. I made some mistakes than I can’t undo, but I don’t regret making them because they made me realize things about myself that I wouldn’t have realized otherwise. I didn’t even know it at the time, but this is the year where I started my journey to self-realization.

Scene 3 is when things started to get real: the search for the perfect college. The only idea I had was that I wanted to be in a bustling city, somewhere away from home where I could gather my thoughts and really find out what I wanted in life without the influence of others from home. I juggled between a few: Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, just to name a few. I then ultimately made one of the biggest I’ve ever made: to spend the next four years of my life in New York City.

After the strenuous college search, Scene 4 depicts my final stride of the most strenuous years of my life. I decided to apply to three New York schools and three Maryland schools, with Hofstra University in Long Island as my number one. Along with having to decide on a college, I realized who my true friends are. I know that sounds cheesy, but you just have this gut feeling about someone when a big change is about to happen, but your bond is stronger than ever and continues to grow. I haven’t even had this type of friendship until this year, although I’m fairly positive that a big part of this feeling is the fact that I now understand myself way more than I did before.

And here we are now, the final scene about to close, every last piece of the script planned out. Hofstra University is where my life will take me, but who knows even after that. To say I’m excited is an understatement, but I’ll always have my roots here. College is the time to make the bestest friends you’ve ever had, go on an even more in-depth self discovery adventure, and if you choose to,  reinvent yourself. College is a brand new experience that will give you more life advice in one month than high school ever did, and don’t worry if you made a few mistakes here and there. Always remember: Even if you make a mistake during the filming, you can always fix it in post.