Why I Chose a School Far Away from Home

I grew up in London, Ontario, home of the Western Mustangs [insert rowdy cheer here]. However, I'm at the University of King’s College in Halifax, a school 2000km away. Those of you who grew up in a university town will understand why this is confusing for some people. I think when you're surrounded by student life, there's a sense of complacency. People expect you to go to your home school, especially when it's a wonderful school like Western.

But I knew right away that Western wasn't the right match for me - I didn't even apply to a school that was less than an 8 hour drive away. And there are a few reasons why that was absolutely a good decision:

1) I'm shy. It is wrong to think that shyness is a good reason to stay home. I'm perfectly content to spend all weekend with a pile of books and Hitchcock movies... if I was home I would probably never go out. By moving across the country, I put myself in a situation where I need to go socialize - and I've made some really amazing friends because of it.

2) Western is a VERY BIG SCHOOL. Big schools are right for some people, but I love the close-knit King's community - I am on a first name basis with almost everybody in my year.

3) London is... kind of boring. It's a great city to grow up, study, work, or raise a family in. It's also a city that I know well. I was itching to see other parts of the country and to live somewhere with a bigger arts scene.

One of my profs told me that I "escaped the Western trap." I don't take this to be a negative judgement on Western, but a positive judgement on me. I could have done the easy thing and stayed at home. Instead, I took a risk, and every day I am glad that I did.

Megann Licskai is a freshman in the Foundation Year Program at the University of King’s College in Halifax.

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theotherkid wrote:	Pretty much sums up my decision. I would also include the need to experience on-campus life (living on res) rather than wasting my time commuting Posted on Mar 03, 2013 at 03:13
saahikat03 wrote:	Don't forget...family plays a big part in this decision as well. Posted on Dec 18, 2011 at 08:21

 

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