By the time I was a senior in high school, I had a clear vision of what I wanted to do next.
My dream school was in Texas. My friends told me that there was always something to do there, new people to meet. I’d already known about its passion for football and prized traditions. Plus, it was located outside the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex I’d called home–but close enough that I could still travel back at a moment’s notice for weddings, quinceaneras, and other family events.
After all, family was most important to me. So, why would I leave home? Why would I move to a different state–somewhere without the community I cherished and where I wouldn’t know anyone?
So, I had decided: my dream school would be my second home.
And then I visited.
As it turns out, I just thought I wanted all those things. I didn’t feel at home on campus. For awhile, I felt defeated. I’d been dreaming about this place for as long as I could remember. Could it be that dreams are not all they are intended to be–that I might just be resigned to living a life I’m not fully comfortable with?
But my dad–who, I hate to admit, is always right–never thought this school was the right fit for me. He told me that he had an idea, but that I had to trust him.
So, I did.
He brought me to South Bend, Indiana–the last place I would ever think of, and where I assumed everything I didn’t want would be located.
And then he took me to Saint Mary’s College.
Like most Belles when they drive down The Avenue for the first time, I couldn’t help but fall in love right away. To the left, I saw deer step out of the woods. To the right, I saw geese and groundhogs make the lake their home. It was beautiful.
It wasn’t hard to imagine life at Saint Mary’s. But I reassured myself–and my family–that my time in South Bend would be temporary, just until I graduated.
But, a funny thing happened: South Bend became my second home. Not the big city home to the big state school. South. Bend.
In this town, people looked after me. When I couldn’t make it home for the holidays, friends and staff members offered to host me. In between classes, I snacked on the delicious treats they brought to my room. And when they saw me walking outside with limited layers during the Indiana winters (for which I could have never been prepared), they served as transplanted parental figures.
They did all these things for me and never asked for anything in return. It felt like family, which was what was more important to me all along.
I’ve always known that I want to make a difference in my community in some way. At Saint Mary’s, I discovered passions for various social and public health issues–but I never knew how I could help on a larger scale. Once I found enFocus, though, I figured out how–because I realized that enFocus was striving to accomplish the same things I wanted to accomplish, and they do so right here in the South Bend - Elkhart Region.
So, I didn’t leave after graduation after all. I figured, what better way to make a difference in a community than to do so in the one that opened its arms to me? It’s time for me to take care of this community, for a change.
I tell everyone back home that I’ll only be here for two more years while completing the Fellowship. But, we’ll see.
As I learned during my college search, my plans may go in the complete opposite direction.