I loved high school. I went to Ewen-Trout Creek (E-TC), a very small school where each student knew just about every other student—and that’s in grades seven through twelve—and the teachers knew about each student and her schoolwork, her family, and (gasp!) even her social life! I was a close friend with many students and most teachers. I was also a very involved student. I was first chair clarinet in band, I was class president sophomore through senior years, I volunteered as a library aide during my study hall, and I graduated co-valedictorian (of a graduating class of a whopping thirty-six students) with one of my best friends, with whom I had a close, friendly rivalry. During nights and weekends, I hung out with my friends or I worked at Tulppo’s Restaurant as a dishwasher and later as a waitress. I had a very busy, fun high school career.

Nobody ever pushed me to do any of these things; I think I am just naturally a competitive person, maybe even a bit of a perfectionist. Along with my band and student government activities, I took classes that geared students toward college. I always took the most advanced math, English, and science classes offered at E-TC, and I consistently aced them. I worked hard at everything I did. Because of my activity in high school, I guess everybody just expected me to prosper in college. And because of that overachieving demeanor of mine, I had high expectations of myself, too. I was a little nervous, especially since I was the first person from my family to attend college, so it was sort of an unknown realm for me. Overall, however, I was confident I could excel at Michigan Tech, my school of choice. Who would have guessed that college would be nothing like high school!

My first quarter at Michigan Tech was rough. I didn’t feel as though I really fit in anywhere. Luckily, I got along very well with my roommate, but I didn’t have very many other friends. I spent most of my time during the week studying, and on weekends I went home. I think that was a major contribution to my feeling as though I didn’t belong. I was terrified of earning anything less than A’s in my classes, so I studied incessantly. I also had to go home on the weekends to work at Tulppo’s. I really needed a part-time job, as I believe most students from the Upper Peninsula do; but besides that, I also really wanted to go home because I knew I fit in there. When I was home, I got to spend time with my friends, my family, and my pets. There was no stress from schoolwork, class, or homesickness. Life at home on the weekends was grand—until Sunday nights, when I would have to head back to school. It was just horrible. The pressure that I put on myself to do well, added to the homesickness, the confusion over what major to choose, and my lack of involvement in music or anything else I really love, took its toll.