Everything was ready. I had packed up my things from my room and my bags were in the trunk of my car. I took one last look at the walls that I had spent countless hours within — only this time, it was different. There wasn’t a Cathedral Prep flag draped on the wall overlooking my bed. There wasn’t a desk with my things scattered on top of it, clothes weren’t thrown over the back of the reclining chair, and a pile of shoe boxes didn’t tower beside my window. My room was empty. I felt like I was prepared to leave everything behind.
In my short 17 years, I have been to a lot of places and have experienced many different communities, cultures and demographics. I pride myself on adapting to new situations. One thing that I have always been told is “life’s an adventure”, but an adventure is nothing if you aren’t going anywhere.
I grew up in the small town of Linesville, PA, and had a flat-world perspective on life. I was ignorant to the world around me for a substantial chunk of time. That is, until it came time to enroll for my first year of high school. This is when my hunger for adventure spiked. Admittedly, I was young and overzealous. However, I had ambition and curiosity that motivated me to make the decision to refuse enrollment at my local high school, choosing instead to attend Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie, Pennsylvania. This would prove to be one of the most beneficial decisions that I’ve made as a young man. The friends that I made and the memories they gave me are second to none. Any effort that wasn’t shown within the halls of Cathedral Prep is effort that I regret wasting. I would do anything to have it back.
Following my enrollment at Prep, the next three years would be quite the ride. I remember my first day as a wide-eyed freshman as vividly as I remember my last day as a confident upperclassman. Upon the end of my junior year, I had every intention of remaining at Cathedral Prep. However, this was a classic case of lack of foresight getting the best of me. I had thought about what I wanted, but not how I’d get it. I knew that attending a Southern college was a goal of mine, but I had not taken into account the cost of out-of-state tuition when it came to Texas colleges and universities. When I sat down and analyzed the situation, it was clear to me: a change was needed.
I didn’t make a final decision until late summer 2016. I remember going to Texas to visit my aunt and uncle with two of my closest friends. Making the situation permanent was always a thought that was in the back of my mind, and I talked extensively with my parents about what I wanted to do. I arrived back home in Pennsylvania and got everything sorted out. I’d be lying if I said that it was all fun and games. Leaving my brothers from Erie was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and walking the halls of Prep is something I think of every day. However, the situation that I’ve put myself in is both exciting and filled with opportunity.
As of now, I’m three weeks into my senior year, still making relationships and trying to figure everything out. I still get lost in the halls and it seems as if I’m introducing myself to somebody for the first time every day. I feel like I traded out my senior year for another year as a freshman, but that’s fine. Nothing about this scares me, and I’m ready for whatever the future holds. After all, life can be an adventure— you just need to get up and go.
