As a senior in high school, what stood out to me most was the fact that everything was changing. I was reaching the end of a journey at my high school, while also preparing to embark on a new one. It was a tumultuous turning point at which I felt unsure of who I was or what I wanted for my future. When I first had to come up with an initial list of colleges to apply to, I was very lost. At the time, I didn’t know what I wanted to study, let alone where I wanted to call home for the next four years. At the end of my college process, the two schools I was deciding between couldn’t have been more different. One was huge, on the east coast, and the other was here at Scripps in Claremont.
There is always some feeling of pressure when making that decision. It’s a choice that ultimately sets your life on some trajectory. But looking back on that time in my life, I wish I could tell myself that it is completely okay to not know want you want. During my college application process, I’m glad that I was flexible and open to different types of schools. When navigating these college decisions, I would be open-minded and look at each school for the resources it has, rather than what it lacks. I looked at each school for more than the simple facts such as size and location, which is what led me to Scripps and the Scripps community.
When ultimately deciding Scripps, I wanted to spend my next four years with a community that would support me and feel inclusive. I didn’t care so much about the size of my school, but rather that the resources here at Scripps would support me for the next four years and beyond. I also knew that my college experience at Scripps would also be intertwined with the consortium college experience. I would be challenged in my classes, but also supported in easily accessible office hours with my professors and peer mentors. But ultimately, I knew that I would be more than just a student here, I would be a member of a community. As someone who didn’t know what they wanted in a school, I decided on Scripps by looking at what would support me as I continue my academic journey. Now, when I study in Seal Court or just sit on the patio outside my dorm room, it feels like home.