I, like any typical high school senior, had no idea where I wanted to attend college. I had plenty of ideas and a ton of incredible offers from several incredible schools. I was offered presidential scholarships, full ride scholarships, and promises of great financial aid - all of which I am thankful for. I've been looking forward to college since my sophomore year of high school, which at the time I had convinced myself I would travel all the way to Great Britain for - this is when the only thing I ever watched was Doctor Who.
I always knew I had an interest in pre-law and wanted to attend a college known for a great pre-law program. My dream school was and still is Harvard, however, that is where I desire to attend law school and you should know I will do anything I have to in order to attend such an incredible school. Same thing with Yale - fun story about Yale though, I actually had an interview with a Yale alumni and it was very intimidating but also very memorable and I will be forever grateful for that opportunity.
For some reason, I was drawn to go up north somewhere in New England; I believe it comes from my love of history since there is so many historical sites up there, I would have been on cloud nine to wake up everyday and be within a few hours drive from Boston or New York. One of the schools I applied to was the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Although I was not accepted, they did refer me to their Dartmouth campus which I was accepted to. It seemed as if I had gotten accepted into almost every school I had applied to, but I always knew that it would be financially difficult regardless of how much financial aid I received.
I did not want to attend a college in my home state of Kentucky, however, I did apply to one school just to be safe and that was the University of Kentucky; which was also the first school I got a decision letter from. I knew the moment that I pulled that blue and white envelope out of the mailbox that I had gotten accepted. Part of it was a gut feeling but the other part was the fact that it read 'WELCOME TO THE BIG BLUE NATION' in large, bold letters also kind of gave it away. I remember as I quickly opened the envelope and the first sentence was 'CONGRATULATIONS!' Obviously I was excited and told my dad, "I got into U.K.!" which he was happy about, probably since I would only be 45 minutes away instead of being 15 hours away.
At the time I still didn't want to attend college in Kentucky, I wanted to get away and start my life some place new. I was still looking and hoping, getting more and more acceptance letters, I still couldn't make up my mind. I remember posting pictures of my acceptance letters on Facebook and feeling a little guilty. I didn't want anyone thinking I was a show off or that I was bragging, that was the last thing I wanted to do, but I was so excited. I have worked so hard throughout my high school years to keep up my good grades, joined extra curriculars, and even had a part time job for all of this to work out. At one point I saw a girl who was a classmate of mine post on Facebook, "Getting accepted into the most colleges isn't a competition". I felt like that statement was directed towards me in a way, I wanted so badly to message her and explain that it wasn't a competition, I was just extremely indecisive, but I held my tongue.
I changed my mind at least 25 times about where I wanted to attend college, I am not even exaggerating. At my high school graduation I still didn't know. I didn't know until I asked my stepmom to take me to 'see blue' at U.K. where I wanted to go and even then I still questioned it.
I just felt weird about the whole thing really. Growing up, especially in middle school, other kids would always talk and post on Facebook about how they couldn't wait to attend U.K. and they went to basketball games almost every weekend. So middle school me would have cried of happiness knowing I was going. But those same kids from middle school, not one of them ended up attending U.K. Only about 8 people including me from my graduating class of around 375+ are attending U.K., it was just a weird situation for me. In Kentucky, you are either a Kentucky fan or a Louisville fan, it separates families. I didn't even know if I wanted to go in the first place.
I will say this, I had a lot of people judge me for choosing U.K. which again was weird because everyone I knew was a die hard Kentucky fan. I had people ask me if I could even afford it as if it was any of their business.
Financially I was beyond stressed out at first. After my FAFSA money, which was barely anything, thanks dad, I still owed about $14,000 just for my first year and if I didn't have that paid off by the end of my first semester I wouldn't be able to register for classes for my spring semester. Bad news for me is I wasn't able to receive any student loans for reasons beyond me, but I got very lucky. Eventually I had scholarships from the state finally be applied and then the university gave me a grant. I had the largest weight lifted off of my shoulders, I have no idea how I was chosen for that grant but I am incredibly grateful as my education is very important to me.
In all honesty though, I am beyond ecstatic that I ended up attending the University of Kentucky. What seemed at first as a gigantic campus, is now so easy to navigate and seems so small. I love my dorm, as I live in a two bedroom suite, meaning I have my own bedroom which is great as I enjoy having my own personal space and privacy.
I have not had it exactly easy this semester, in September I went through something pretty traumatic (I would much rather not explain what happened) which took a huge emotional, mental, and even physical toll on me. Thankfully my professors and the resident hall staff have been nothing but understand and supportive of me. U.K. also provides free healthcare to students which does include counseling and therapy - both of which has helped me so much.
Once I take a moment to think about it, I am so glad I am attending U.K. it is just absolutely so perfect for me and I cannot imagine going to school anywhere else. Staying in Kentucky was not what I wanted at all but in the long run it really helped me out financially and I am one of the lucky few students who actually sees their family at least twice a month. As much as I hate to admit it, staying at home was the right thing to do.
Xo,
Lauren Jordan
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