How I've Grown

        These last couple of months have been somewhat of a blur. I feel like time has just flown by. It seems like only a couple days ago I arrived at Iowa State and the first semester is almost over. Throughout my first semester at college, I have learned a lot. I have learned a lot academically and about myself personally.
        Academically I have been challenged. High school came very easily to me, so I was not very good at studying. After one semester I think I have already studied more than all of high school combined. I am very proud of myself for how quickly I adjusted. It helped that I had a  GPA goal set for myself; it made me strive that much harder. I now know how hard I have to work if I expect to do as well as I did in high school.
       As much as I have learned scholastically, I have learned so much more about myself. I learned that I count on my family being there more than I thought. I also learned that I am much closer to my family than most people. An important thing I learned is that I can be independent and handle situations on my own. This was one of my biggest struggles. I have always been able to handle things on my own, but before my parents were always there to assist me just in case. Now everything I do is based off of my judgement and morals. I feel as if coming to college has helped me grow as a person.
       Now, that I am at college I appreciate little things so much more. I took for granted the fact that I had my own room at home. Having to share my space with someone else was a little weird at first. I took for granted the fact that my mom made supper every night. This is not as big of a change because  people are still cooking fro me every day, but it is still something that I had to adjust to. I also took for granted that all my friends were around whenever I needed them. Now most of them are hours away and I barely  get to see them. I also took for granted my siblings. My siblings are the ones who could always keep me smiling. They were a big part of my motivation to succeed. I have always treasured the fact that I get to be a role model for them. I am just as much as a role model now as I was then, the difference is now I only get to talk to them on the phone.
       All in all I like college. It gets better every day. I know that I will keep learning and developing as a person. I can't wait to see what the future holds.