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About a year ago, I sat in my dorm at the University of San Diego (USD), anxiously submitting my application to transfer to ��������. My desire to be re-accepted came from a deep regret of not choosing the school the first time. During my senior year, I had planned to commit to Occidental. And then, on a whim, I attended USD’s Admitted Students Day. After a long seven hours on campus, I convinced myself that the university was similar enough to what I had found at ��������, and that with its larger student body, I would have a more considerable and robust college experience.

In the midst of my first semester in San Diego, I became overwhelmed with the feeling that I had made the wrong decision. The academic programs for my major and extracurricular opportunities were not as similar to �������� as I’d anticipated. The larger student body I thought would help me grow made it more difficult to make connections and wasn't as tight-knit as the one I actually wanted.

My stomach turned into a knot whenever I thought about spending the remainder of my college career in a place I knew wasn’t quite right for me. Over winter break, when I discussed my reservations with family members, I assured them that everything would be fine. While I spoke these words, a car with an Occidental bumper sticker drove past. One morning, not long after, I woke up thinking I needed to visit �������� on February 2nd and learned that it just happened to be the day of their annual Transfer Open House. My feelings, combined with this pair of coincidences, compelled me to revisit campus and realize what I already knew: that I belonged here.

Any transfer student relives, in a sense, their first-year college experience. While there’s a baseline understanding of how college works, each school is different, prompting a period of relearning and adjustment to a new social and academic environment. It seems that transfer students are often expected to hit the ground running; that they must get on track to graduate, join clubs and explore extracurricular options, and take advantage of unique opportunities all at once.

And yet, I know I made the right choice. While the transition poses its challenges, like finding your place in a new community and meeting those outside of the transfer cohort, I have never once regretted my move. Already, I’ve had the ability to thoroughly engage in my learning experience, explore my passion for service, and grow as an individual.

I've built and fortified connections with my professors and peers through small and interactive courses like “Sociocultural Foundations of Education,” “Constitutional Law,” and “Rethinking Democracy.” By joining organizations like Alpha Lambda Phi Alpha, and becoming a student representative on the Board of Trustees SLEM Committee, I now feel well-integrated into the broader campus community. I am thankful for the friendships I've made, and I'm excited to see what’s in store for the rest of my time here. As I reflect on where I was a year ago, all I can remember is how badly I wished for everything I have now.