I’ve never been outwardly proud of myself. I strive for perfection, or at least as close to perfection as I can get. From the moment I arrived at campus, I was terrified. Will I be good enough? Will I be able to survive? Will I make friends? Despite all of my fears, I am sticking it out. I am so proud of myself for staying, and I would be lying if I said there hadn’t been multiple times that I seriously contemplated giving up and going home. Being someone who has always wanted to be perfect is a blessing and a curse, it pushes me to work harder but also means I have a difficult time giving myself a break and being proud of what I’ve accomplished. College has forced me to realize that acknowledging my accomplishments and being proud of myself for them is just as important as the accomplishments themselves.
Another reason I am proud of myself is the way I have handled being so far away from home. I grew up in an extremely tight-knit family and knew that I would struggle being away from them. And I did. In fact, for the first few weeks of living on campus, I called my mom at least 3 times a day and told her how much I just wanted to go home and felt like I didn’t belong here. With much convincing, I chose to stick it out. I am incredibly proud of myself for not only staying but focusing on myself and finding the balance between making time for my academic obligations as well as my personal needs and wants. All of these accomplishments would have gone unrecognized by the younger me, but since coming to college, I have learned that my accomplishments are worth pride and recognition.