In his famous poem Robert Frost's character took the road less traveled. Well, after my four years of college and two years of prep; I am not sure which road I chose to take, but I wouldn't change my journey for the world.

The stress of my high school days, specifically junior and senior years, was significant.  Juggling classes, cheerleading, student council, prep courses, and college applications; it's hard to imagine that I had time to spend with my friends, family, church, and community.  After trips to North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont, I decided that I was destined to go to college at Duke University in Durham, NC. Unfortunately, Duke University did not agree. 

After spending agonizing hours working on admissions essays and recommendations, I applied early decision and waited and waited and waited to hear back from Duke.  When the dreaded date rolled around and the small envelope arrived in the mail, I felt that all of my dreams had been shattered.  Why me? Or maybe the better question was, Why not me?  I didn't think things would ever look up. 

I wanted to remove all of the Duke clothing from my family's closets and fly to North Carolina to protest my rejection in person.  The phone calls came in from extended family and my parents had to inform them of the regrettable news.  My family tried to help me pick up the pieces of my shattered dream.

The following afternoon, I received a bouquet of balloons from my aunt and uncle in New Jersey with a message that read, "When God closes a door, he always opens a window." Being an overly dramatic high school female, I was convinced this was not the case.  I was soon found wrong.  As time went on, I was able to lift my spirits and continue on with my senior year and my college applications. 

Two months later, I received my first acceptance, which even included the offer of a scholarship. Indeed, God had opened a window. I was overwhelmed with excitement and emotion, leading me to tears.  The stress of being accepted by any college had taken a toll on me and finally the stress was relieved because I knew that I would go to college somewhere.  I also knew that this college was not the right choice for me.  As the months rolled on, I received acceptance letters from several other colleges.  I was able to narrow the field and tour my remaining top contenders.

Finally, when May rolled around, I made my decision to go to Lehigh University.  Lehigh's picturesque 1600-acre wooded campus is actually built into the side of what is affectionately known as "Old South Mountain" in historic Bethlehem, PA, home to the once thriving Bethlehem Steel Company. It's located a little more than an hour's car ride from Philadelphia or New York City. It has become my home away from home and retreating to my dorm room provides me with the same comfort as my bedroom at home  in Connecticut.

College has not been an easy ride, in fact, it has been a roller coaster with many ups, downs, highs, lows, twists, turns, and unexpected excitement.  As I head into my final months at Lehigh University, I have spent a great deal of time looking back on the journey that brought me to my second semester senior year and the onset of the real world.  It is scary to think that in only six months time, I will be a college graduate, working and living full time in New York City.

Freshman year was a whirlwind, and when my first round of grades came around, I was of the belief that there were courses that did not appear on my report card, courses that I was sure I had taken.  That curriculum was such a large part of my freshman year experience that I felt I should have received a grade for courses like laundry 101, how to live with a messy roommate, battling
to use a dorm bathroom with 35 girls, how not to gain the freshman fifteen, and how to resist the temptations of college life.  There was no one standing over me saying, "Get out of bed and go to class," or "Kristen, do your homework."  Instead, I was greeted with the opposite message, "Don't go to class. Come to the party!"  Day to day life is filled with temptation. Now, this balance is for me to manage without my parents yelling at me to complete simple tasks or to effectively allocate my time.  And this same challenge will only continue next year as I step out on my own; having not only mastered time management and social skills, but also juggling a close-knit circle of friends and academic success. 

In sophomore year I was blessed with the privilege of living in an on-campus apartment on the hill, amidst all the fraternity and sorority houses.  The social atmosphere and community could not be beat.  But the beginning of the year took an unexpected turn when I had an encounter with the steel stairwell door that was kicked open. It knocked me twice across my face and forced me to the ground.  As the days went on, I was having frequent migraines, a flashing light sensation behind my eyes, and nausea. 

After checking myself into the local ER, I found that I had a concussion and torn muscles behind both of my eyes, forcing me into glasses and home to Connecticut for a week. A door was indeed opened--directly onto my face--but thankfully, a window opened for recovery.

In spite of this setback, I was able to move forward and during this same year, I also chose to join one of the sororities on campus.  After six weeks, I realized I had joined a new family that would help to expose me to different experiences.

The remainder of my time at Lehigh has provided me with an outstanding education and my growth and development have continued to flourish outside of the classroom as well. Lehigh could not have been a more perfect match. It has afforded me the opportunity to become the person that I am today.

            Each of my four years of college has been distinctively different and offered new learning and growth opportunities.

As I have journeyed through my college years, there is not one minute I would change.  Though there are things I would like to take back, they have all provided me with growing and learning opportunities.  Now, as I enter my final semester of college, I am ready to venture overseas.  I will be participating in a study abroad program in Strasbourg, France.  I am anxious about all of the unknowns that await me, the new sense of adventure and freedom I will feel, and how I am going to fit all of my clothes for an entire semester into two suitcases. While the path that I have followed these past few years has been one that resembles the winding dirt roads of Fairfield County, CT, with many twists and turns, and sometimes an unexpected pothole, it is because of this path that I am who I am today.  Sure, there may have been a well paved road that I could have taken, but what's the fun in that?  Instead, I chose to create my own path. 

~Excerpts from a speech given by Kristen Stimola, (graduate of Lehigh University Class of 2009) in December 2008