When I went to college, I was certain that I wanted to be a doctor. I had taken Spanish classes from 7th-12th grade, and I planned to continue to take them, mostly per the suggestion of my parents. I completed three semesters at the University of New Hampshire studying Biomedical Sciences, on the pre-med track, and planning to minor in Spanish. During my time there, I toyed with the idea of changing my major a few times, and went through the typical add-drop period taking some natural resource conservation classes, or some sustainable agriculture classes, but ultimately ended up sticking with my original plan. I spent my time at UNH generally unhappy, mostly because I refused to put myself out there upon arrival in college. I was shy and was uninterested in having what I thought to be forced conversations with people, so I isolated myself and ended up often being pretty lonely. I applied to transfer, but then doubted my gut feelings and tried to push them away, convincing myself that I simply had to give UNH more of a chance. Finally, right around the approach of finals during my sophomore year fall, I woke up one morning and something just snapped. I was done being in this cycle of misery that I was caught in. I opened my laptop and submitted an application to transfer to UMass for the following spring semester. I called my mom after the fact, and told her what I’d done, and she was supportive. Continue reading →