Original: So… here I am.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

So here I am, my first official assignment at college. Two weeks ago I couldn’t even imagine what college life would be like. Would I be scared? Nervous? Would I have friends? How would life be without my family by my side every day? Well, I’ve been immersed in this new experience for about a week now and my questions are nowhere near to being answered, but a few are. I know that I am scared and nervous. I have a couple of good friends. Life without Mom and Dad is different, but life is overall, okay. Being introduced to a new lifestyle is always a daunting thought. Coming into the big city of Orange County was a daunting thought. How could I, a 17-year-old girl from the outskirts of a small town that is used to mudding and barn barbecues, get used to large city life? As an outsider, Los Angeles seemed like a place for the complete opposite of me. My reasoning for attending Chapman University are vast, but one reason that drew me in, the most is that I wanted to travel outside of my comfort zone. To me, the idea of traveling is doing anything that is outside of your daily routine, and that pushes your comfort zone. Traveling should create new experiences that allow you to learn and grow. When determining what classes I wanted to sign up for I knew that I wanted to experience my major courses a lot, but I also knew that I wanted to dip my toes into different classes to gain a more cohesive knowledge. I was drawn to this course because I was intrigued by the idea of having a class that had a singular focus. I also believed that this course would let me explore my experiences through a creative outlet. In this course I expect to broaden my knowledge of different views of travel from my peers and learn more about ways to express my experiences through various mediums. I am most nervous about sharing my work with my fellow peers, but I also feel motivated to make sure my work is of good quality because of this. As the year progresses, I hope to gain more confidence in my work and to strengthen my critiquing skills on others work.

So here I am — a college freshman with no predetermined expectations or judgments, just a fresh start. I am not sure what the future holds for me, but I know I will have many more questions and experiences that push me outside my comfort zone, but I am ready to start my journey.