A Hoosier Raised by Hoosiers
Deciding to go to school…where your entire family has gone to school
My parents have been bringing me along to visit IU pretty much since conception. The two of them bleed crimson and cream and made sure that their three kids grew up to be as big of fans as they are. Beyond my parents, I’ve had aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, and great uncles (the list goes on) that have all graduated from Indiana University. My childhood was made up of lots of trips to Bloomington for tailgates, basketball games, or just so my family could take a walk down memory lane. IU was the first college I ever visited and that came to have a huge impact on my perception of what college was supposed to look and be like.
As the years went on, I went back and forth on the idea of attending IU. My brother is two years older than I am and I watched him go through the application process. And for him, this process consisted of him applying to only Indiana. He’s more of a one and done, never looking back sort of guy but I am very much the opposite. Approaching my junior year of high school, I decided I wanted to go to school somewhere far away… or so I thought.
Still unsure of exactly what I wanted to study, I researched schools all over the country from California to New York. I knew that I wanted to be out of Ohio and was not interested in going to the schools that the majority of the kids from my high school attended. The beginning of my senior year, my dad and I went on a little college tour of the Midwest to visit a few of the colleges I had applied to. I got to look at schools like University of Michigan, Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin. I absolutely loved experiencing all of these different campuses and it made me so excited to apply there. Like I mentioned before, I had made many trips to Bloomington with my family, so my dad and I did not include Indiana on our college tour. In fact, I never even did an official visit prior to committing!
As I continued along the college application process, getting accepted and rejected from schools, I slowly came to realize that although I wanted to be out of state, I did not want to be as far away from home as somewhere like California. This realization helped narrow my choices. It really came down to the University of Michigan and Indiana University. I really loved Ann Arbor and liked the idea of going to a Big 10 school that had pretty much everything IU had, but still allowed me to take my own path. That was something that I think I struggled with the most. I hated that people assumed I would just go to IU simply because that’s what everyone before me had done. I wanted the decision and the experience to be my own. After getting deferred from Michigan, I held out hope that I would be accepted later on.
It was February during the car ride home from a visit to Ann Arbor, when I found out that I had been rejected from Michigan. With this news, I was closer to my decision. As disappointed as I was about Michigan, I quickly came to realize how much of my interest in that school stemmed from me liking the idea of doing my own thing. IU does offer and has always offered all of things that I wanted in a college experience. I would not be where I am today without the rejections I faced.
From that point forward it was all excitement! Housing applications, dorm room shopping, IU gear, and finding my roommate and best friend! (shoutout Nicole) Everything began falling into place and I grew confident in MY choice to continue the Hoosier lineage.
So no matter what your college journey may look like, know yourself and what you’re looking for. Don’t let the opinions and thoughts of the people around you hinder your ability to follow your own path. At the end of the day, everything truly happens for a reason! I have loved IU for my whole life and am so proud to call myself a Hoosier!
This year I am now a senior….what?! It really is crazy how fast the time flies!! I have learned so much along the way and am excited to soak up every second of my last year in Bloomington. We’ve been through a lot this past year and it’s very nostalgic to have a more normal year at school. Football season is off to a great start and always remember…LEO!
