I was always a person afraid of change. The switch from elementary school to middle school, and then middle school to high school, made me nervous and scared. New halls, new teachers, and even some new faces. All of those changes made me nervous, but of course the biggest change I have gone through would be the switch from rural high school life to urban college life.
I have lived in Madison, Virginia all of my life. Madison is a small, rural town 70 miles southwest of Fairfax, with a population of about 14,000 people. I had only attended one school district my entire life, and grew up knowing the same kids all thirteen years of school.
My dad’s house sits within Blakey View Farm, established in 1780. It consists of about 700 acres of owned and rented land from surrounding neighbors. Our main income source is our cattle, which we raise and sell yearly.
During the summer in my hometown, bright colors surround me. The blue tint of Blakey View Mountain sits perfectly behind my house while the rolling green fields surround it, and in the fall, the view just gets prettier as the leaves fade into orange, red, and yellow hues. My life was always full of color and I was expecting my city life to be dull and scary.
It was. I was shoved into a closet of a room with little to no personal space with a person I had only met on the internet. I had no idea where to go for classes. I was worried about getting sick, both mentally and physically. The buildings were gray and shiny and the pavement was dark and dull. All of my life I was used to living in a house where my neighbors were located miles away. A two minute walk at my dads house got me to the upper barn on our farm. A two minute walk on George Mason’s campus got me to the dining hall.
I was an outsider in every way. People spoke differently. I never realized I had an accent until I was made to participate in class discussions with people all over the country, and even all over the world. I felt unsophisticated compared to students who had come from New York or California. I felt like a redneck. In some ways I felt as though my small town high school did not prepare me at all for the four years I would be spending here.
My first semester was hard. I struggled to make friends. I was shy and I felt like anything I contributed to a conversation sounded dumb and unsophisticated compared to other answers I would hear. I even felt like an outsider during the beginning of second semester. My roommate had left to study abroad, and I was all by myself again. A new kid at a brand new school. But, by the end of second semester, things seemed to change.
I began to call this place home. It felt foreign and I even felt bad for saying it at times, but I felt an odd attachment to this place. I wanted to stay on campus more often. I wanted to do things with the group of people I had suddenly become friends with. Even now, during my second year here at Mason, I feel like I have created a safe space with the people I have put in my circle. I have come to realize that there is beauty here at Mason too.
The sunset on top of Rappahannock deck looks absolutely stunning, reflecting off of the shiny buildings I used to hate. The grass in the spring in front of the CFA looks vibrant and beautiful. The twinkling lights of the buildings and street lamps have grown on me. Not only have the sights become my favorite things about Mason but the like-minded people and kind friends I have met are my favorite things too.
I love my hometown. I love the way it looks and how I feel there when I am with my family. But I also love my college life. I love the opportunities it has provided me and people I have met and will continue to meet while I’m here. I am discovering new ways to live here and new people to talk to. My small corner of the world is always dear to my heart, but that’s just one small corner. I have so much more to learn and see, and I am excited that I have found a place to do that.