As graduation season is in full swing, the most common question grads will be asked is where they will be attending college and for some, they are embarrassed to say their choice because they fear they will be judged. I know this is something I faced last year after choosing Georgia State as the college I would be attending over other schools like UGA and Furman which offered me scholarships. Everyone kept telling me that I could do so much better and was taking the easy way out by going to GSU. Now after a year of being at GSU, I stand by my choice 100%.

Now I am sure many of you are wondering exactly why I chose to go to GSU. When I began applying to colleges, it was not my first choice. I cried out of excitement after getting into UGA. However, as my college search continued, I began to realize how many more opportunities I would have at GSU. The most important thing, it offered me the school of social work which no other school I applied to had. I also would be able to attend GSU at a MUCH lower cost than the other schools I was accepted to. I am very blessed that I had a college fund set aside for me, but even with me $40,000 scholarship each year to Furman, I would still be paying $25,000 which seemed absurd to me. By going to GSU, I am able to work 5 days a week which allows me to leave college with savings and due to my scholarships, my college fund is able to cover my tuition leaving both me and my family debt free.

I am going to school, making all A’s, and working 5 days a week, yet people still tell me I am settling. Why is this? A large part of it is most likely because I attend a school in the middle of downtown Atlanta, which many consider to be a terrible place to live, the location even had a role in moving an MLB away from the city. But overall, I believe the main cause of people’s judgment is the fact that the school doesn’t have the same “reputation” as other schools in the south, something I have always been up against.

Growing up, I always attended public schools, and my mom was a HUGE advocate for public school education in my area. She was always so excited to compare my test scores to the private school kids which always were higher. For my freshman year of high school, I decided to attend a math and science magnet school in the nicer part of the county. I soon came to realize that just because a school appeared nicer, does not mean that it is. I was bullied severely by a teacher who repetitively told me that because of where I came from and how I looked, that I was never going to amount to anything. It got to the point that I believed that. I went to tutoring twice a week just to try and pass her class, and came home crying everyday. My parents almost pulled me out of school it got so bad. For my sophomore year, I decided to go to the school which I was districted for, one that was considered to be “ghetto” and “dumb.” When registering for the school the IB director told me that despite my bad grade in that class the year previous, he though I could thrive in the IB program so I gave it a shot despite my lack of confidence. I met two teachers who literally changed my life and acted as second fathers to me. They worked with me on the days I was too sick to come to school and have been there through every mental breakdown along the way. Jones and Gagnier, I can never thank you enough for believing in me and helping me regain my academic confidence. Thank you for pushing me when I thought I couldn’t push anymore. They showed me that just because a school doesn’t have a good reputation doesn’t mean that the teachers do not care and aren’t invested, they showed me the opposite.

I graduated high school happier than I could imagine in the IB program and with a 4.2 GPA. So as I came to the choice about what college to attend, I did not feel any doubts when picking a school that didn’t have the best reputation. I knew that this was the school that could give me the best education possible for a social worker at a reasonable price and was offering me a masters degree in on year. People often said that I was chickening out going to a school so close because I would be home all the time, a year later, I have only spent 5 nights a home and they were for medical reasons. I have made an independent living and have an apartment in midtown. So when people now judge me on my school choice, I don’t get defensive because I know that I am making the best of my time in college. Partying was ever my thing so going to a school which was surrounded by so many job and internship opportunities seemed like a dream, and it is. I will be working in the school systems and with a hospital in the next two years and will leave college with a good understanding of how the world works because I did attend college that takes place in the middle of a rapidly growing city.

So when you are applying to college don’t worry about what other people will think, do what is best for you. Be proud of your choice and answer where you are going to college with pride. You do not owe anyone an explanation. This is your life so live it the way you want to, not the way others want you to.