Now that my senior year at Kingston High School is almost half through and I have started full swing into my college search, I can’t help but think about what all of this really means.

All at once I am leaving the home where I grew up, leaving family and friends for periods longer than ever before, and mainly, leaving everything that is comfortable and known to me. But what you can gain from leaping into all this change will serve you more than you could ever imagine: you just have to jump.

If any of you are re-thinking going to college, doubting you’ll to be able to succeed or think it’s too late (it’s definitely not); or if you’re a parent having a hard time letting your child go, I hope to sway your thoughts into a more confident view that a higher education can be the most important thing a young person can do for themselves.

Whether you have aspirations to be an engineer, doctor, teacher, designer, retail, chef, accountant, or maybe you want to go into the NFL, MLB, or NBA draft, there is a college you could love to be at and that would love to have you. Finding that college is the hard part; it takes a lot of thought to pick the right college. Rural or urban? Big or small? D1, D2, or D3? Then, of course, close or far from home?

Wherever you choose, all that should really matter is whether or not you’re happy there. Does the college have what you want to study? Are they offering you the money or benefits you deserve? Can you see yourself succeeding there?

I believe strongly that there is no excuse why you shouldn’t at least try to make college a goal in your future. Just by trying, you will open yourself up to new things – a whole different way of life and learning things about yourself that may make you feel confident about attending college.

Colleges offer a broad variety of opportunities, just about anything you can think of. When I say anything, I mean anything. On my many college visits, I saw posters for such clubs as “Pool Golf Club” and “MySpace Addicts Club.” I know that the thought and even the first few steps of the college process are intimidating, but what I can’t stop thinking about is what amazing experiences and many life lessons I will discover when I finally leave the nest and fly to California for my next four years. Oh, and not to mention all the studying and learning I will be doing!

I know change is hard for most people; I know sometimes we’d rather avoid challenges; and I know 12 years of school should be enough! But I also know that I don’t want my next few years anywhere else but at college – meeting new people, learning new things, and becoming the person I know I can be.

Ready to jump in yet?

Hannah McCluskey is a senior at Kingston High School. When she’s not writing, she’s playing fast pitch softball.