This Thing Called College

     Okay, so I'm Mary Frances and am a freshman at Converse College. Being eighteen, I don't know too much about college, the world, or even life itself; there's a lot I have to learn. That's one of the reasons I decided to go to college. Sure, just going out into the world quickly after graduation is a great way to make money, but that's just not me. I want to study more and prepare myself for what the world has to offer.
     Ever since I was a little girl I loved music. My mom used to tell people that I was singing before I could talk. I remember making up words to hymns because I couldn't read them and thinking that the songs we sang in church were the most beautiful things I had ever heard. As I got older, music began to play an even more important role in my life. I continued singing and began taking dance lessons. Now, you might ask, "Why is she giving me her life story? This isn't relevant...", but I promise it all makes sense. With dance, comes music. I think that listening to the music and really making a connection with the movement and the music is extremely important. I mean, you don't want to dance to something that doesn't make you feel anything because that's just boring. In this way, I was completely surrounded by music; it was everywhere! I began to develop a true love for music and performing. My love for this encouraged me to want to pursue a career in performing arts. As I began to think about how to go about achieving this career, many options presented themselves. I could've left home after high school graduation and moved to New York in pursue of my dreams or worked and lived at home for a year. However, I thought I might need a little (okay, a lot) more help and studying if I wanted to perform on Broadway one day. With this thought in my head, I began to apply to colleges to see how they could help me on my journey.
     Hopefully, that answered the question of why I chose to go to college. Now, I'll answer the second one: why did you choose Converse? Well, there's a story to this answer as well. Since I had decided to go to college, I had to find the right school. I began with thinking of attending Columbia College because that's where my mother went to college. She had also taken me around campus a few times and I like it enough. I also toured Lander University, Furman University, Wofford College, Coker College, Winthrop University, and Coastal Carolina University. Although I really loved Columbia College, I didn't feel exactly right. For a while I struggled between going to Lander University and Wofford College because I was considering a communications major. One day, my mom came to me and told me I would be touring Converse College. My first reaction was one of surprise and refusal. Why would I want to go to some random school that I thought, at the time, was named after a shoe?! No way was I going to go there; I already had my heart set on Wofford. I was miserable the whole drive up to Spartanburg. Sitting in denial in a car for about four hours is not a pleasant experience. However, as soon as I set foot on campus, I fell in love with Converse. The first thing I said was, "Woah, this is like an all-girl's version of Wofford!" Needless to say, my mother looked at me like I was an idiot. After touring Converse, I thought about my options but realized that no other college seemed as right as Converse felt. When I'm on campus, I feel like I'm somewhere I belong. It's everything I've ever dreamed college would be.
     On to the next question; why did I decide to study music at Converse? Well, as I mentioned earlier, music is pretty much my life. I'm not one of those people who want the career that will make them the most money. I want to have a job doing something I love. I love music, therefore, I'm here to study it! Plus, Converse has an amazing music program. We're one of the only schools to have our own independent music school. I also really loved the fact that Converse music students were all very successful in their chosen professions.
     As for the last question, I'd definitely give up cereal. I'm a really picky eater, so I don't eat my cereal with milk. I just like it dry. I really love sandwiches. They're easy to make and have a little of almost every food group in them! Sandwiches are wonderful if you're really in a hurry or just want a quick snack. There's nothing quite like a turkey and provolone sandwich! :)