The first time I stepped onto the University of Akron’s campus, my steps felt light, fast and almost giddy. The year before college started had been rough, and now I was free from the burden of it all. There was peace in that. 

There are points in life when things flip and change, where new doors open and old ones disappear forever. That’s what UA is for me. And the hardest part of starting here wasn’t the classes or finding my way around — it was coming to terms with that change. 

For many people, the scary first steps in college are living with a roommate, starting classes or handling self-responsibility. For me, it was different. I had already lived away from my mom for about a year and had roommates for even longer. The scariest part was standing on the edge of a cliff with a beginning staring at me in the sun — knowing I get to choose how it molds me, and how I mold it. And that is terrifying. 

The responsibility to create your own version of yourself is something people have written about for ages — from Tolstoy to Kant — all in these big, regal, almost otherworldly ways, each different from the other. Picking my path felt scary. But then you just live it. 

Those big ideas didn’t come to me by studying or forcing my life to change overnight. They came from living, experiencing and slowly adding all those moments into my life — just taking it in and adapting as I go. 

For me, the first and final step of becoming a college student is stepping into the unknown and getting comfortable with what living on your own really means — becoming your own, on your own. Becoming the person, you choose to be, without any other influence. That’s the real fear and the real greatness of college. 

Sure, the classes, LinkedIn profiles, career fairs, parties and even trips to Moe’s are all part of it. But the real appeal is walking on your own and moving forward for yourself. Evolving into you — a proper adult — and taking away that fear. Stepping forward is both the first and last step of college.