I would come nowhere near labeling myself as a sentimental. However, the nostalgia I feel for college life comes all too often. I miss the Classic City. I miss being in a college student mindset – invincible, limitless.

What I miss most though are the people.

UGA is huge. With over 36,000 students enrolled, it can be easy to get lost in a crowd of people, especially when you are from a small coastal town in Southeast Georgia. What is special about UGA though is how many opportunities there are to get involved.Once you put get your foot in the door to a sorority or fraternity house, the Center for Student Organizations (now called the Center for Student Activities and Involvement) or any of the college ministry groups, it opens up a smaller world where you can find your own niche, becoming a name not just a number. The involvements I listed are just the ones I was involved in, not mentioning athletics or the plethora of other fun, communal activities on the UGA campus.

Compared to my four years at UGA, post-college life has been lackluster.

A big part of this for me was the transition from personal relationships to professional relationships. Transitioning from deep, 2 AM Little Italy relationships to somewhat surface, work relationships was difficult, and for an extrovert like me, the isolation that I let incur from that was toxic.

Finding purpose was another big part of the transition for me. I am a true millennial in this way. Work to me needs a purpose, a reason; it needs to make a difference. In my first job out of college, I liked it, I liked the people, but I did not feel like I was working towards anything. I was learning, I was making great friends, but I could feel myself feeling stuck, lonely and purposeless. I was not separating my purpose or identity from my work and I could not see beyond that job.

After almost a year in my first job, I decided to venture elsewhere in the hopes that returning to a familiar place would spark something in me that I knew I once had. I found a fellowship with a local youth ministry, applied and was accepted. It was a place I had not imagined myself being again but a place I am eternally grateful for, home.

In every dream I had before this point, home was not where I was and a fellowship was not what I was doing, but here I am. For me, coming back to my roots, my foundation, sparked my dreams again and set me on a different, but incredible journey. Although I am still working on the purpose bit and have just acknowledged at this point that there will probably never be another time like college again, coming home allowed me to regenerate, dream again and set my sights on something new and hopeful.

It allowed me to remember where I came from so I can imagine where I want to be.

I loved college, and I will never have that same experience again, but post-college life can be just as enjoyable and life-giving if you are able to find the balance between purpose, identity, work and life. It is hard work; it may take three moves, two jobs and one journey home to get you there, but it is possible.

Hopefully, I will be in graduate school next year working towards a degree in social work. A field I had never considered until two mentors on separate occasions both mentioned it to me. Had I never come home though, I may not have ever thought about social work and the doors it can open.

The journey has been different than I expected but so worth all of the people I have met, lessons I have learned and new dreams I am working towards.

Even though I haven’t always realized it, community has played a huge role in my life.

I grew up in a stereotypical small town—exactly the kind you hear about in country music songs. Everybody knew everybody. The kids you graduated with were the same kids you played with at recess in kindergarten, and it was not possible to walk in our local grocery store without seeing someone you knew.

By the time I got to high school and began my college search, I was so sick of my small hometown that I was using college applications as a one-way ticket out. It’s not that I hated where I grew up, but I definitely didn’t understand what a special thing growing up in my close-knit community was. I didn’t realize how much I depended on the community around me and my small, close group of high school friends who I still depend on today. This community was something I had always had, so I took it for granted. I was just ready to go somewhere new, meet new people, learn about different cultures and start fresh. I wanted to have a conversation with someone who didn’t already know my life story.

As I sat in my room that I’d lived in since I was a baby and applied to colleges, all at least 700 miles from home, I never realized that it would end up being the hardest, most terrifying, yet without a doubt most rewarding thing I’d ever done. After I made my somewhat random decision, I ended up here at UGA, where the student population is four times the population of my hometown.

This made for quite the transition.

After the first week of excitement, starting classes, trying not to get lost, meeting hall mates and awkwardly trying to sit with strangers at Bolton, I began to feel lonely, homesick, and out-of-place. It did help that I was one of the lucky ones who had a really great freshman year roommate who I instantly became friends with. She introduced me to some of her friends and without her I’m not sure I would’ve made it through the first few weeks here.

Still, I felt like everyone was always with their friends from home talking about high school or their new sorority or something else I couldn’t relate to. I found myself craving the sense of community that I had ran from. I wanted nothing more than to walk in to a grocery store or pull in to a gas station and run into a friend’s mom, my elementary school teacher, that old couple who lived down the street, or just any familiar face.

I missed the comfort that came with being part of a community.

Once I left home, it didn’t take long for me to realize how important community was. In fact, leaving home was probably the only way I ever would have. I learned that we naturally desire the feeling that we belong to something, and it is so important to be surrounded with individuals who care for, appreciate, and encourage you while you do the same for them. It is human nature.

Although I felt pretty intimidated, I didn’t doubt that with time I would find my place on campus.

So I became that freshman. I went to every activity fair and club interest meeting, I collected countless flyers, I put my name on dozens of email lists (which I still regret everyday when I look at my inbox) and eventually I landed at two places on campus that would end up feeling like home to me.

The first one was Relay For Life. This was intriguing to me because I had participated in Relay for years so it felt familiar to me. I joined a committee last year and was lucky enough to be selected for the executive board this year. The community within this organization has amazed me. It doesn’t take long to feel like part of the Relay family. Relay is filled with so many selfless people who truly care about others and dedicate so much of themselves to this organization.

I recently saw this quote that reminded me of the Relay community:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

We all push and encourage each other to be the best we can. We recognize that when we all come together as a community, we can accomplish amazing things.

The second place on campus that I have found community in is the Wesley Foundation. Wesley is a campus ministry that has an all-freshman branch called Freshley. I joined Freshley last year and am a part of Wesley this year. Through Freshley and Wesley I’ve had the opportunity to join small groups where I’ve built incredible relationships with some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met.

The people I have met through Wesley have changed my life and helped me grow in ways I never would have thought possible. Of all the time I’ve spent studying during my first three and a half semesters, the most valuable thing I’ve learned is how important it is to build relationships and to spend time with others who will be there with you during all of life’s craziness. Life can be hard and at times probably unbearable if you don’t have people you can count on to have your back.

At this point in life, it is so easy to get caught up in school but at the end of the day, life really isn’t about your GPA, or your major, or what grad schools you can get into, it’s about the people we meet, friends we make, and the lives we touch along the way.

Since the summer before my freshman year of college, I have worked in football recruiting for an SEC school. When I first started I was somewhat awkward, extremely uncomfortable with public speaking, and was somewhat content with just being involved enough to have a full resume. Never all in. 

As I became more involved and committed to my job, I developed a passion for what I was doing and why I was doing it. Through having to talk to so many types people over my time spent at UGA I began to develop a love for people in general.

I now love to get to know all types of people and really try to see life from their point of view. I also learned how to carry myself in a professional manner and demand respect no matter the situation, especially within a male dominated field. I value the opportunity to mentor younger women who have a goal to work in sports and train by example as to what they can do. I may sound like I know it all, but that’s definitely not the case.

I have a love of learning and using poor experiences and criticism to make myself a better person overall. I love learning from other people the most though. Other people’s lives just bring a perspective into my life that I would have never had any other way. Getting to know someone else opens your mind in an unexpected way and think about everyday situations in a new and inventive manner.

Other people are the best way to improve yourself.

Life is crazy. Life is weird. Life is unexpected. “Life” is all about how you choose to live it. As you get older, you start to ponder about your life and your future more often. You get scared, you get sad, you get worried, and you get anxious. In the midst of all these emotions, you are living your life, never stopping to think about the ending to it. But what if one day your life suddenly ended? What if an unexpected tragedy occurred and you lost someone? Even worse, someone close to you. Your world is all of a sudden shattered and you question why it happened and what you could’ve done to stop it.

UGA lost four beautiful souls on the night of April 27th. What happened was completely unexpected and completely devastating. How is it that they are they alive and laughing and physically there one second, and in the next, just gone forever? It doesn’t make sense to me, and doesn’t make sense to most people.

However, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. Maybe God needed them up in heaven and they had fulfilled their duties here on Earth. Maybe it was their time to go and be with Him. We don’t know; we will never know. No one saw it coming; no one could stop what happened.

After the initial pain of the losses starts to wither away in the community, people continue living their lives and keep moving on.

But what about the families and the best friends of the victims? How do they possibly lessen the pain of their loss? How do they wake up everyday and not remember over and over again that their loved one isn’t there? My heart is aching for the families of Christina, Halle, Kayla, and Brittany. Knowing that all four of those best friends are in Heaven hand in hand is putting me at peace, and I hope everyone else mourning can think of that too.

I’ve lost very few people throughout my life and for that I’m thankful, because I don’t know how I would handle it. I am so incredibly blown away by the strength of humans, especially in the time of mourning a loved one. I’ve watched one of my good friends go through the loss of his little sister in this horrible car accident, and I am constantly amazed. How does he have the strength to even see people? Talk to people? Answer his texts and post on Facebook? But then I soon realized, life does go on.

We don’t want to come to terms with it, but while our loved ones are rejoicing in heaven, they want us to move on with our lives.

They want us to be happy. All your loved one wanted when they were here was for you to be happy, and nothing’s changed even though they’re in a different place.

They aren’t suffering or in pain, they’re in a place full of happiness, love, and good people, and what makes them happier than anything is looking down knowing that you are happy.

So, for all of those out there suffering from the loss of a loved one, live your life not only for you, but for them. Finish out what they started, and live with them inside you every single day. Think about how they would have wanted you to live and carry out their lives. Let their beautiful souls shine through you. We only have one life, so choose to live it wisely. However that is you choose, just know that your loved ones are never actually gone. They’re woven throughout you and everything that you do. They radiate off of you and your strength. Take this life and make it the best it can be, for you, for your loved ones, and for the man upstairs that’s always there for you.

As a gymnast, flipping through the air on a four inch beam requires the highest level of concentration and balance. I have spent over 15 years of my life practicing balance beam, and at times, I still lose my balance.

In life, just like gymnastics, balance is one of the hardest skills to achieve and also one of the most important. I believe it is a lifelong, learning process that requires self-discipline and adaptability. Achieving success as a student-athlete in the classroom and in competition is absolutely impossible without it; and I have learned this lesson the hard way.

My life as a high-school student and club gymnast consisted of two things: school and gymnastics. School was never too much of a challenge for me.

I stayed on top of my school work, managed to get A’s and B’s, and focused the majority of my time and effort on my passion…gymnastics.

My hard work in the gym paid off, and I was given the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level on full athletic scholarship. Something I will forever be grateful for.

I had two realizations after my first semester of college: school is hard; and I love being social.

However, college presented itself with a whole new set of challenges. I had two realizations after my first semester of college: school is hard; and I love being social. Because I spent the majority of my life prior to college in the gym, my social life was nonexistent, other than my teammates who were more like sisters to me; but I was completely fine with that.

My drive and determination to excel in gymnastics and compete for the best college in the country (UGA) trumped any desire to have a social life.

June, 2013, I moved into the dorms at UGA. I was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of people that shared the same love of sport that I have. We all spent our entire existence dedicated to our sport, something that few people understand.

I made so many friends freshman year. Often times, I would sacrifice studying for hanging out with friends. It wasn’t long before my GPA began to suffer. I knew I had to make a change.

Instead of limiting the amount of time I spent socializing, I began to sacrifice sleep; and believe me when I tell you, I need sleep! I quickly realized that playing egg toss in the hallways until 1 a.m. with the swimmers that lived next door, or teaching the baseball players how to do flips on the couch (luckily there were no serious injuries) was not the wisest use of my time. My lack of sleep was beginning to affect my concentration in the classroom and in the gym.

My body couldn’t keep up. I was tired, overwhelmed, and stressed. I was off balance.

Sophomore came with nagging injury, maybe resulting from a lack of focus, that added to my stress and frustration. I wanted to be healthy, I wanted to compete, I wanted to reach my full potential in the sport I love, and in the classroom. I needed BALANCE.

I knew my struggles in the gym and school were God’s way of telling me, “you have to make a change.”

I needed to prioritize.

I needed to invest my time into relationships that would last a lifetime rather than sacrificing my studies or sleep for friends that are there for me only when it’s convenient for them. I knew this transition wouldn’t happen overnight.

It was going to take me exerting self-discipline in consistently making good decisions that would put me in a position to reach my full potential in all areas of life. I knew it would be tough, but God creates His toughest soldiers through life’s hardest battles.

The end of my sophomore season as a gym dog was steadily approaching, and things were finally beginning to look up. My ankles were almost at 100% and my GPA was on the rise.

I continued to strive to make good decisions with my time. Taking on a support role for the beginning of the season was new to me, but it taught me to be encouraging, patient, and hungry for the spotlight again. I sought out every opportunity to prove myself in the gym.

I would say a prayer every time, “God, pleeeease let her call my name. I want to compete soooo bad.” But every time I heard, “…and Morgan will be the alternate.”

The last few meets of the regular season were upon us. When Coach Danna Durante began to call out the lineups for the upcoming meet, everyone was silent. I would say a prayer every time, “God, pleeeease let her call my name. I want to compete soooo bad.” But every time I heard, “…and Morgan will be the alternate.” I had to take this as a challenge. A challenge to work even harder in the gym; to continue to push my teammates and prove that I was ready to compete.

The last meet of the season was at home vs Utah. Danna called out the lineups; but this time, I was not an alternate. I was competing second on beam and first on floor! I was excited and ready.

That night, I competed with a new appreciation for the opportunity to compete as a gym dog.

I hit had a solid beam routine, followed by a memorable floor routine to tie my career high score of 9.9. I secured my spot in both lineups going into post season. My team and I went on to win Regionals, and then later placed 9th at the NCAA Championships.

Halfway through my college career, and I continue to strive for balance in all areas of my life. It is a lifelong process. With different stages in life, come different things to balance. Prioritize what’s important, rely on God to take care of things out of our control, and live a peaceful, balanced life full of happiness rather than stress and anxiety.

Trust in the timing of your life. It’s a phrase that has become my anthem.

A mere few months ago I flipped my tassel from my safe haven of college to the terrifying unknown of the working world. With that single transfer on my graduation cap, I ended one journey and braced myself to begin another.

It all reminded me of the last time I flipped a tassel: my high school graduation. Coming from a tiny private school I had no idea what to expect from college. I knew what I thought I wanted: small, liberal arts school with an emphasis on creativity. Instead, I was handed a huge state university with an emphasis on football, day drinking, and more buses than I’d ever seen in my life. To say the least, I was terrified.

Today, I love UGA with all my heart. But I must confess that I cried the day I signed my commitment, and they were not tears of joy. It was my second-to-last back-up school but free tuition (shoutout to my man Mr. Zell Miller) was too good to resist. Visions of drunk rednecks ran through my brain, hooting and hollering as they waved red and black flags. I couldn’t imagine how I, a conservative goody-two-shoes, would fit into such a place.

But on my first day of orientation, I made a promise to myself: I vowed to be happy here, no matter what. And that’s exactly what I did. That choice made all the difference, changing my attitude and allowing me to see what UGA really was.

Much to my surprise, I quickly realized the stereotypes were just that: stereotypes.

And thus began four of the best years of my life, meeting my best friends, becoming involved in incredible organizations, and growing exponentially in my identity and sense of self. (Spoiler alert: I’m no longer conservative or quite as much of a goody-two-shoes). I learned to love cheering for the Dawgs, sweat dripping down my sundress, dehydrated lungs bursting with the chants of the Redcoat band. The cries in that stadium were, for me, an anthem to my love for Athens and for the people who made it home.

And so, as I embark upon this next journey, I am equally hesitant. My tears are not tears of joy. I’m told to “pursue my dream,” even though I have no idea what that may be. The real world looms overhead, bringing with it loads of dollar signs and decisions.

It’s times like these that question us, push us forward, and challenge us to find what we truly stand for. Who are we really? What do we want? How will we change the world? Those are some of the simplest yet hardest questions of humankind. The kind we dedicate a lifetime to searching for the answers.

The universe, or God, or whatever you believe in, placed me where I needed to be four years ago, transcending even my best attempts. That same force will place me where I belong for the next four years. In the midst of this terrifying unknown, that is one thing I know for certain.

Trust in the timing of your life. You are where you are meant to be. Be at peace with that. And don’t forget to enjoy the ride!

If you told me at 5 years old twirling baton would shape who I am today, I wouldn’t have believed you. I have been a Feature Twirler of the Redcoat Marching Band for the past four years. Leading the band with flaming batons has been the best part of my journey. This sport, that most people don’t know exists, has taken me across the world to compete, has allowed me to achieve my dreams, and has brought me to the finest school in the land.

I am a very goal oriented person and the great thing about twirling is you are accomplishing small goals almost every day whether it’s catching a new trick or getting through a new routine with minimal mistakes. I loved the self-pride I had when I practiced a trick 500 times and finally was able to do it. There was nothing I loved more than going back to a lesson and showing my coach how much I had improved.

When I was younger I really just wanted to win.

I wanted to become a Miss Majorette of America. This title is equivalent to the best all-around gymnast where there are multiple events that total for one’s final score. It is the ultimate goal.

I am only the 3^rd University of Georgia Feature Twirler to have won the title of College Miss Majorette of America. It was such an amazing feeling carrying the 6-foot trophy around Stanford Stadium. There is no greater honor to win the highest title in my sport for the school that I love. So how did I get here?

I grew up in the central hub of the University of Iowa: Iowa City. Being the youngest of four, my life was busy. We were also going from one sibling’s activity to the next. Both my parents have also worked full time but somehow we made it all work.

All my siblings are very hard workers and were very involved so I never knew anything different except for being very busy all the time. Today, my brother Chad is currently in medical school at Des Moines University. Growing up he taught me that no matter how many extracurricular you are in, school will always come first. I started baton twirling, dance, gymnastics, and piano all at the age of 5.

My parents didn’t know what would “stick” so they just decided to give it all a go. Little did we know, I would continue with gymnastics for 10 years making it to level 9, I would dance until my senior year of high school, and my musical background would lead me to play percussion in concert band.

My parents always told me that if I wasn’t going to give it 100% I wasn’t going to do it at all.

Even with the many activities I was involved in, I genuinely wanted to attend each and every lesson, practice, and competition. I never felt any push from my parents, we were a team and they were going to help me in any way possible. My parents are very calm and humble.

You would think by all that we were involved in they would be over the top but truly our family is as down to earth as it gets. Both of my parents work in the medical field so they are very practical and sensible. If I didn’t win or do my best, they would never make excuses for me, we would just come up with a game plan of how to do better next time.

One unique aspect about my baton twirling career is that my mom played a pretty significant role.

I have had many coaches who choreographed my routines and showed me new tricks but there’s a lot of time spent in between lessons, mastering the tricks through endless repetition.

So the majority of my practice was spent with my mom watching me. There were certainly times when I didn’t feel like spending day after day with my mom but it forced me to realize that we had to be a team.

With maturity I understood that when we stepped in to the gym my mom was no longer my mom, but my coach. She knew enough from my lessons to be able to help tell me what was good and what wasn’t.

My first coach was a Feature Twirler for a university marching band so my dream to become a Feature Twirler was instilled early. Every Saturday we would go to watch her twirl and I was simply awed. I knew that no matter what happened in the competition side of twirling, if I could get on a football field all that hard work would be worth it.

Whenever the going got tough and I didn’t think I could do it I would be reminded of my goals and how badly I wanted to achieve them.

The hardest thing for me growing up was knowing when to stop.

I have a very competitive nature so I wanted to be the best at everything I was doing. The best twirler, the best gymnast, the best friend, and the best student. I was able to manage it all amazingly well but there were certainly times when I felt I couldn’t do it all. I was also so busy all the time I don’t think I took enough time to give myself room to breathe and to enjoy my accomplishments.

My primary twirling coach lived two hours away so every weekend we would drive two hours for a baton lesson. It was certainly a commitment but it’s just the way it was.

As I got older I started working with coaches outside the state of Iowa in addition to my primary coach. I traveled all around the Midwest to meet up with my coaches to learn new routines. We somehow managed to fit all this in, in between the other sports I participated in.

High school came and another sport began to fill my priorities.

In high school I ran, all the time. I started cross country preseason in June before my freshman year. We ran every morning. After my track practice, I practiced baton.

During the school year I would twirl at band practice in the morning before school, run with the track team after school until 5:30, then go practice baton, and some nights even go to dance class after all that.  Some days went nonstop until 9:30pm. I think it’s safe to say I have mastered time management.

There were probably people who thought I was nuts. My peers didn’t always understand the twirling or understood my goals. But when the Worlds Champions came, they understood my commitment.

My sophomore year of high school I won the Jr. Miss Majorette of America title and received a World Championships medal in Ghent, Belgium. Come senior year many were not surprised when I was announced as the new Feature Twirler for the University of Georgia.

I feel a great amount of pride for UGA and I believe it is the best school in the nation. In my college search process, visiting other campuses made me realize that there was something special at UGA that was unmatched.

The deep set tradition of the Redcoat and Bulldog nation was something that I wanted to be a part of to leave my mark and legacy. Georgia’s program is the best. We perform the highest level of difficulty of any school in the nation.

I wanted to be THE feature Twirler for the University of Georgia. A feature twirler is typically the face of the band.

Usually feature twirlers lead the marching on the field or any public appearances. A feature twirler is a solo performer who is responsible for his or her own choreography.

At the University of Georgia the Feature Twirler is known for twirling Fire Batons at the end of the halftime performances.The feature twirlers perform a high level or risk through difficulty and can usually be recognized by a separate uniform. As a Feature Twirler I practiced outside of band practice.

All four years that I have been at Georgia I have competed to represent UGA and the Redcoat Band. I have won hundreds of awards and titles during my time at Georgia including the 2012 Women’s Collegiate Championship, the 2013 Twirlmania Collegiate Classic Champion and 2014 College Miss Majorette of America.

Being a National Champion. It’s a moment when you have to pinch yourself to make sure it’s not a dream. I had had so many dreams of them announcing my name as the winner but when it actually happened it was so surreal.

A lifelong dedication to competitions was all worth it when I was able to accomplish the goal I had set when I was 5 years old. Matched with representing the University of Georgia I would not have imagined a more picture perfect conclusion to my twirling career.

But where will this sport take me later on in life? What do I have to gain after all the accolades and awards after a wonderful collegiate career?

I currently have a few students I am teaching baton too. It is such a great feeling to be able to help someone else achieve their goals. Baton has been such a positive part of my life and I want to share that with all of my students.

I find a lot of joy in seeing them catch a new trick and receive a 1^st place ribbon. I hope that with every student, whether or not they continue baton in the long term that I can have a small impact on their life.

Today, it still amazes me all the goals I set and was able to achieve.

When you start at the beginning of any journey dreams seem far off and out of reach. But the fact is you can’t climb a mountain in one day. I set one small goal after another. Overall, there is no magic recipe that got me to the level I am today. It was simply hard work and hours in the gym.

I got bruises; I hit my head, but what I found to be most true is that when I put in the hard work it would all fall into place at the competitions or on the field. Matched with hard work it takes mental toughness. If you doubt yourself or become intimidated by others you cannot be mentally tough.

Some of my competitors have become some of my best friends but I learned that for me to perform my best I cannot not let their abilities lessen my own. For I have realized that I cannot control how they perform. I can only control myself.

The moral to my story is commitment. It took a lot to get to where I got but I would not change any part of my journey. Wherever life takes you, jump in headfirst and never look back. Your hard work will carry you to the top.

“The past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why we call it the present.”  

Throughout high school, I constantly found myself wishing the days away, and college was often the only thing on my mind. I couldn’t get out of my hometown fast enough; figuring that I would leave for college and never look back.

I didn’t appreciate the value of family, and didn’t understand the meaning of true friendship. I tried to live life according to a mental image that I had pre-set for myself, panicking if something even slightly deviated from my plan. It wasn’t until an unexpected turn of events, beginning a new chapter in my life, and a growth of my faith that I finally realized I am the key to my own happiness, but not the sovereign of my future.

Through many hardships, I have learned to enjoy every moment and not to stress myself out with the things that are out of my control. Back in my high school days, and even into my early college years, I would worry about every minor detail that went awry.

From something as small as which prom group I was invited into, to as big as what would happen if I didn’t get into the school of my dreams, everything just had to work out as I had prepared.

I liked following a set schedule in which every minute of every day was perfectly planned out.

But I quickly found out that life doesn’t work this way, no matter how hard you try. For as long as I can remember, my Saturdays have been spent between the hedges cheering on the Dawgs, while simultaneously admiring all of the cheerleaders below that I aspired to be. Sanford Stadium was the one place that I felt comfortable and completely at home because many of my childhood memories took place there.

I was in for an unexpected reality check when I quickly went from the excited high school cheerleader driving up to see my role models on the sidelines, to being the average college student watching the game from the stands.

Being the planner that I am, I previously had my entire college career envisioned. I would be on the UGA cheerleading team; simple as that…right? Wrong.

One minor accident would send me kissing that plan goodbye.

“Crack.” The cringing sound that still lingers in my head and haunts me to this day. The cringing sound that would end my cheerleading career. The cringing sound that would shatter my dream. 

To this day, I can still clearly visualize the 9-foot tumble out of the arms of my teammates onto the unwelcoming foam mat. I can still feel the excruciating pain shooting up and down the right side of my body, scared to make the slightest movement. I can still hear the hissing silence of my teammates, waiting to take a breath before they made sense of what just happened.

One simple slip of my base’s hand led me crashing to the ground, unexpectedly changing my life forever. From that moment on, I knew that all of the preparation that I had done had just gone flying out the window. My broken leg would cause me to miss UGA cheerleading tryouts, and there was nothing I could do to change it. Thankfully, I got accepted early admission to The University of Georgia without the help of cheerleading, so my hard work, planning, and high test scores paid off.

This was a huge weight off of my shoulders, so I spent the rest of my senior year trying to make the most of my high school experience.

However, I still felt as if I was living a life on a pedestal according to other people’s standards, constantly trying to people-please and caring way too much about other’s opinions. I let my “friends” walk all over me, and my acquaintances influence my behavior. I probably could have fooled you, but I was anything but happy. If I can pinpoint an all-time low in my life, I would definitely have no problem choosing my transition into college.

I was completely lost and felt like I had wasted my entire life looking forward to something that was no longer in the cards. I frequently found myself wandering down memory lane, putting myself back on the sidelines of those Friday night football games or Spring Break trips to Panama City.

I was finally living in Athens like I had always dreamed, but all I could think about was how badly I wanted those high school days back; the youth that I had previously taken advantage of. Those days didn’t seem all that great at the time, but that’s the problem with our memory. It has a funny way of only retaining the positive experiences, and conveniently forgetting the negative.

I was attending the University of Georgia as a freshman, living out the typical “American college experience.”

It was an opportunity that many teenagers would kill for, yet I didn’t appreciate or take full advantage of it. So after much debate, I decided to accept the past and follow a new path, deciding to go through sorority rush.

It started out as a tough adjustment going from my well-known identity in high school to an average, unknown student in college, but I was adjusting better than I thought that I would. Yet even as I started becoming closer to my sorority sisters and meeting so many new people on a daily basis, I still felt lost and off-balance.

I no longer had my “cheerleader” image to rely on, so I had to work hard to develop a new identity, forcing me to get out of my comfort zone and learn so much about myself.

At first, I struggled with finding a happy medium. I used alcohol to fuel my social interactions and mask my awkwardness, proving to be far more personable with the help of some liquid courage. I was becoming very social, but I quickly realized that the friendships that I was forming based on drunken-nights downtown were surface level. They were a large improvement from many of the unauthentic friendships that I endured in high school, but I still felt very alone.

It wasn’t until I took a step back and started caring less about what others thought of me, and more about what I thought of myself.

I became more outgoing, independent, and confident in who I was, without needing validation from others. I’m not perfect.

In fact, I’m nowhere near it. I’m stubborn, but I’ll admit when I’m wrong. I complain at times, but I am always trying to please others. I forgive too quickly, but only because I value relationships too much to let stupid arguments affect them. I can be quick to judge others, yet I know how crappy it feels to be judged. I am clumsy and trip at least twice a day, but I am an athletic person who knows how to get up and shake it off.

I am the definition of awkward, but I am also one of the most social people you will ever meet. I do embarrassing things, but I know how to laugh at myself. My imperfections may not make me flawless, but they make me…me.

Throughout my time at the University of Georgia, I have loved, lost, lived, and learned a tremendous amount.

I have grown as a person, and improved as a friend. I am not the same person that I was four years ago, and I will not be the same person four years from now. My experiences, although I didn’t realize it at the time, have shaped me into who I am today.

I have realized the importance of taking it day by day. College has made me appreciate the meaning of true friendship, where people accept you for who you are. Or they don’t, and you learn to get over it. I have realized that some people have been placed in my life for a reason, some for a season, a few just for now, and others for forever.

I no longer try to impress anyone or live up to expectations. I am not going to stress myself out about the future, or keep living life in the past. I have had more fun in my college years than I ever thought possible. I have made friends that would bend over backwards for me; those who will pick me up from downtown at two in the morning so I don’t have to walk home alone, bring me coffee when I am late-night cramming for midterms at the SLC, or stay awake for hours on end having meaningful conversations when they know I am on the verge of a break down.

I have realized the importance of family and faith, confident in the fact that I always have a comforting home to come to when the stresses of life become too overwhelming. I have a God that will always love me more than I could ever imagine, even on the days that I still struggle to love myself.

So, as I near the completion of my final semester at The University of Georgia (Go Dawgs), I do not know what my future holds.

I do not know the answers to the repeated questions from friends and family members over the break about my plans following graduation. I may not have a set job lined up, or a guaranteed career path ahead of me, but I do know that I will live every day to the fullest. I will not let expenses get in the way of my desire to travel. I will not let others’ opinions transform me. 

So for now, I will focus on becoming the best version of myself, pursuing my passions, and defining my self-worth in the One who truly matters. Everything else will follow. We don’t definitively know our forever. We don’t even know our tomorrow. But we can make the most of our now.  

Each day is a gift, which is why they call it the present.

Lastly, Rachel heads to Australia after graduation … If you would like to support her travels, please feel free: https://www.fundmytravel.com/campaign/hAbjOqJuK5

UGA Miracle is the biggest philanthropy on campus. There are thousands of members and the goals we set each year are outrageous. This year, we raised over $1 million dollars for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. That is amazing.

Raising that much money is something I never thought I would be a part of, especially as a first year student. I will forever be impressed by what a group of students can achieve when they really want to. All of this is just factual. The thing that gets to me is the dedication and inspiration you can sense in every member of the Executive Board. Everything for Miracle is big.

In UGA Miracle, the goals are huge, the meetings are loud, the reveals are magical.

At the beginning of the year, the goals reveal seemed like such a simple thing. Everyone gathers in a big room and the leaders announce how much money we aim to raise for the year. The reveal is something that gets put on a to-do list – something you go to because you feel obligated. When you get there though, everything changes.

A family comes in to talk to you, to connect you to what you are raising money for. Then the tears come. Some of the kindest people go through the most difficult things and that is tough to handle, even when you are not the one experiencing it. These families are inspirational beyond belief.

After the family shared, one of the Family Relations committee chairs spoke. She detailed her time with the Hopkins family and part of her message was “I am me because you are you”. This got to me. I think we see reflections of this statement in our daily lives and we just let them slip.

We are shaped and molded by those we spend time with.

It is obvious that my best friends throughout the years have made me who I am, but it is easy to forget. We forget that moments and concrete memories would have been completely different with other people.

Other times, we get angry and upset, and then we really forget. In the midst of heartbreak, we would much rather foster on the negative things that came with the pain rather than the light and the joy we had the chance to have for so long. Sometimes you go through a pain that is unlike anything you have experienced before. This is when you learn. You learn how to heal.

Sometimes the hardest things are what make you who you are. Sometimes the people that seem to cause the most damage actually teach you about yourself. I am me because you are you.

My friends that are not education majors believe that my final semester in college is basically five months of free time.

After all, I am never on campus, and I do not have exams. Obviously my semester of student teaching is a breeze, right? WRONG.

Student teaching is basically three months of you paying college tuition to hold a full-time job that you do not get paid for, and even if you did get paid for it, the paycheck would be dismal.

To most people, it sounds like your basic unpaid internship- a natural right of passage for every college student. However, student teaching is beyond that.

It begins at an hour of the morning when it is still dark-before those annoying birds even wake up.

Then somehow in an hour and half, you find a way to look like an adult, disguise seven snacks as your lunch, and prepare your body for the day ahead the only way you know how-caffeine. But unlike college courses taken on campus, you step into school and have to be on it.

Good morning! Are you going to have a great day today? Walking feet, please! There is no grace period of waking up; there is no sitting in the back hoping not to be noticed.

As a student teacher, you are sitting in the front row, constantly raising your hand. And then there is the fact that you are in this weird student/teacher purgatory area, where you are still a student, but you want to be treated like a teacher, even though your students think differently.

There have been several momentous attempts to convince my students that they only need to be concerned with the “teacher” half of my title. It is hard to do when 22 fifth graders think they are the same age as you because you are not married with kids. Most likely, my five foot three stature makes me seem a little less intimidating.

And it definitely does not help that the area most UGA students do our student teaching in is overcome with poverty.

Despite America’s great attempts to educate our youth equally, I have only seen those attempts fail, even though I root for them with all my soul. However, I am going to transform those attempts into realities that allow students to be prepared for the world they will one day shape.

But as demoralizing as student teaching and education can be at times, 22 fifth graders have also taught me more than any college class ever has. Monday through Friday, free of any charge, you can see student teachers perform high energy and engaging routines for eight hours a day [plus or minus the 5 hours we spend before or after school] for an audience that is more interesting in “dabbing” than the Depression.

So the next time you think education majors have it easy with their Pinterest crafts and story time, remember that we are working at least 60 hour weeks trying to be a teacher, while still having the assignments of a college student, only to be paid in eye rolls, tears, middle fingers, and the occasional “OMG! I get it now! It was hard, but I get it now,” which makes it all worth it.