In 2010, when I seriously started considering college, I swore up and down I was going to go to Penn State. And my father and I drove there, and we visited, and we got lost on campus, and I fell in love. But no one in my family fell in love with the out of state tuition that was double and then some what I would be paying if I were to stay a little closer to home.
So I was angry and annoyed, because there went my dream school. The dream school that I never even ended up applying to in the end.
My parents and I toured Grand Valley, and I swore I was going to go there. Why? Because I wasn't going to be one of those kids that either went to UMich or MSU. And let me tell you a little something about GVSU: I fucking hated it.
I hated the weird modern-ish atmosphere. I hated the buildings. I hated how small it was. I hated the people giving us the tour. I hated the tour. (Sorry, GVSU friends.) I was still so in love with PSU. But I was going to tough it out. I was going to go to a school that I hated, just for the sake of not going to Michigan or Michigan State.
Until my parents literally dragged me to MSU. We got lost. We fell in love.
Michigan State was the only school I applied to. Michigan State was the only school I got into. Michigan State was the only school I was going to attend.
Freshman year I stayed on campus with some fucking weird suite mates. I became a ballroom dancer. I fell hard for a guy that I don't even speak to anymore. I drank tequila for the first time. I no longer drink tequila. I traveled. I made friends. I came out of the shell I had built myself into in high school.
Sophomore year I moved off campus. I got a job. I danced for half a year and then I stopped. I saw a therapist. My parents got divorced. I photographed hockey for the first time. I kissed the first boy I would ever kiss. His name was Scotty, and I was singing "Scotty Doesn't Know" and picturing Matt Damon the whole time. I fell for a different boy.
Junior year I stayed off campus in the same apartment. I continued working at the newspaper. A lot. Like 7 days a week. I really didn't have much of a life junior year, but that was okay. I loved the people I worked with. I enjoyed myself. I covered football and an entire hockey season and baseball and I traveled. I covered a B1G tournament. I worked at the Joe Louis.
Senior year. My last year. I found the relationships I wanted to keep and the relationships I didn't want to keep. I switched jobs and learned editorial design. I met new people. I covered hockey again, for a reprise tour of Munn and a last hurrah at The Joe. I fell for another boy that I almost didn't want to be with. He inspired my thesis. I wrote a senior thesis that I liked (!!!). I read it in front of people. I turned 21. I fucking GRADUATED. In four years!
tl;dr?
I didn't have a traditional MSU experience. I didn't have a traditional college experience. I'm so far in debt I'm swimming.
BUT. I met the best people and made the best memories. People I want to be with and talk to for the rest of my life. I had a job for three years that allowed me to do so much in so little time. Everything was so new and exciting, everyone was so different. I've done so much in so little time and been with so many amazing people. And I don't know how to properly express it.
So here's to all the people that made Michigan State University the best fucking university in the United States. Even the UMich kids that lost football games for us. And threw dildos at Sparty (really guys?) Everyone made every minute, every melt down, every tear, every all nighter worth it. So. #GoGreen #GoWhite
And still. The best part? I managed to avoid stepping foot in Rick's for all four years.
