Ironically,
I was quite put off by Evergreen when I first toured the campus back in 2010,
at the young age of 17. I didn't know yet any of my passions, who I would
become, how much Evergreen's unique approach to learning would end up aligning
with the way I pursued knowledge and change within myself. I only knew that I
wanted to move to the Pacific Northwest and deep down I knew I wasn't really
ready to go to college-the true reason for my lack of excitement while touring
various colleges that fall. So, I took a gap year and fell in love with the
ebbs and flows of agriculture, learning that I would not feel fulfilled unless
I spent my life toiling in the dirt growing food for anyone I could. I learned
I could fly to a country completely unknown to me with nothing but a backpack
and a three-night reservation in a hostel and could thrive. Unfortunately, I
also learned while working and traveling through New Zealand, that my mother
was re-diagnosed with breast cancer and so I learned the terrifying yet
liberating truth that plans and paths can drop and change in a second.
I had my heart set on a school in Florida, but with the news
of my mother's cancer, I ultimately decided that Hendrix College, an easy
seven-hour drive from home, was the best option. It was not the wrong choice–I
met people who helped lead me toward who I would become, created ties with
professors that would last a lifetime, and opened my mind to the possibility
that learning in school did not have to hurt, but could in fact be truly enjoyed. I was just getting into the groove of college
the first semester of my sophomore year, having finally finished my four-year
college plan when I got the call that my mom's health had plummeted. I left
immediately to be with her and was blessed with three more weeks of her company
before she passed on Oct. 27, 2013 at the age of 57. Despite knowing the
inevitability of my mother's death, I was still taken off-guard. At 20, I
entered a world of independence that was shrouded in grief. My friends, professors,
and therapist helped me through and I finished another semester at Hendrix as a
part time student, focusing my efforts on an anthropological study of grief in
southern American culture, integrating my own personal experiences with data I
was collecting.
I withdrew from Hendrix permanently in 2014, following my
gut feeling that I would do better with some space to breath rather than
forcing myself to stay on the path I had devised for myself before my mom's
death. I knew if I was going to graduate college, it was going to be a
conscious decision rather than an adherence to a path society created for me. It didn't take long for me to start looking
into Evergreen again, especially since my yearning to move to the PNW had never
ceased. With more research, I was able to see how Evergreen has the ability to
assist me the way I am, rather than my having to conform to an institutions'
way of learning. I feel form-fitted for Evergreen in a way–knowing now that
true feedback spurs me forward more so than grades ever could; knowing now that
though my interests lie primarily in agriculture and environmental science, I
must have room for those interests to grow and change and space enough to seek
other opportunities seemingly unrelated to those disciplines to create a more
holistic self; I know now that the costs of college are no joke, and since I
provide for myself must choose a school that won't send me into the shackles of
student debt for the rest of my life; I know now that a college degree is not
an inevitable part of life, but learning is and more than anything right now, I
desire to be in a space where people from all backgrounds can pursue their
curiosities and I suspect I can find this at Evergreen.
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