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I think that this was a very difficult question for me to answer because there were so many challenges in my transition to college. I think that ultimately my biggest challenges were deciding where I wanted to go to college and leaving my family, friends, and boyfriend behind. I was very undecided with what college I wanted to go to—to be quite honest, Bryn Mawr was not even in my top three choices. My family and friends were all convinced that I was going to stay down South for college (which is what I really wanted). I knew that I would be closer to my parents, the weather would be nice all year round, and I could still continue to play soccer and run track at amazingly athletic schools—but something just wasn’t right. I knew that ultimately I wanted academically rigorous institution and the schools that I was looking at down south didn’t fit all my expectations; I wanted to be challenged and I wanted to be on my own and make decisions for myself. Choosing Bryn Mawr was a very hard decision but a very good one at that. It was hard to leave the people that I loved the most but I knew that it would be worth it in the end. I think that what has been the most challenging is not having my parents here with me (in college) to reassure me, give me constant advice and support, help me make decisions, and to just be there for me when I need them. This is not to say that they aren’t always here for me but it’s just not the same when they aren’t physically around. I put this upon myself because I chose Bryn Mawr; I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see my family as often and I’m often really sad about it because I truly do miss them but at the same time I have developed so much independence within myself which has given me a lot of maturity and strength to be positive about my transition in college so far.