To come to a new town was an altogether new experience for me. To expect that things wouldn't change how they have was quite a shock for me as I have observed a lot more occurrences outside the town of Zoo. I never thought I would go back home and not feel like it was home, but it happened. My old group of friends have moved on. They have their lives now. The only thing that has stayed consistent since I left was the fact that my grandparents still live in the same house. Everything has changed, everyone has changed. This year showed me what real independence is about. Growing up, I have always had a sort of independence, but that was surely tested this year. I would be straight up lying if I said I lived perfectly. All I have to say is that I learned a lot more about people and that when you are accountable to yourself, the actions that you do become that much more important. You don't have that same group of people around who you are trying to appease, you have a whole new group, who don't know you, your values, or how you were brought up...you have yourself and God to be accountable to. You have to grow up. You have to build and create your own sense of responsibility and faith, or you get caught up in doing what everyone else does, just because that's what's easy and acceptable. Going off to another town for college taught me that in order to become the type of person that I want to be, I have to take a stand and stand up for myself. I have to be my own character, or else be walked on time and time again. It's easy to stay in the same town, with the same people, do the same thing all the time; it's easy because it's comfortable, and you know to a certain extent what to expect. I underestimated many things about going out into an unfamiliar place, as things are not always as they appear. One thing I underestimated was the power of peer pressure and societal expectations. I stood for my values, but on other things I became lax. It has been a year since I moved to a new surrounding. I have found that I have grown and light has been shed on areas in my life that I thought were just fine. To me, I've grown in a good sense, but what I know for certain is that I have so much more to learn about myself and God, and that's the truth of the matter. I don't care what other down lookers think, I have to and should only care about what is right and what God wants. Laters.
-Katie Jo
