Column: Guest Column, by Colleen Thompson

I’ve always been a girl opposed to change. If things are going smoothly, why change them?

When Mom told my family we were going to paint our kitchen, I wasn’t sure how I would feel surrounded by a new color during family meals. When our church stopped saying the doxology, I kept saying it under my breath for weeks just so someone would keep the tradition going. Even when my dad decided to remove some dead trees and shrubs in our yard, it felt like the world was ending.

I’ve resisted change all my life, it seems.

But when I graduated from eighth grade at Hollandale Christian School, I was ready for the transition for middle school to high school. That was one change I looked forward to. Although it was hard to leave behind all the wonderful memories and good times of HCS, I was ready to embrace something new and exciting.

I ended up loving high school. Being a lowly freshman wasn’t a problem. My outgoing personality and friendliness served me well in meeting new people, and all the fun activities Albert Lea High School offered seemed to just be waving signs that said, “Colleen, Colleen! Over here! Become involved with me!”

Before I knew it, I was involved in as much as my schedule would handle. I acquired a job at Rob’s Gourmet Greens in Hollandale during the summer of 2008, which is a year-round job that I work two evenings a week in the school year and several mornings and evenings in the summer. I had already taken four years of band at HCS and decided to add to that resume by sticking with it for another four years. I also joined choir. May as well, right? Good thing I did because I loved it and ending up earning a scholarship for $2,500 per year to sing at the University of Sioux Falls this fall.

I also took up math team, even with all the teasing I got from my friends, during my freshman year. I became a manager for the boys’ basketball team and learned all the b-ball lingo. (Even though I didn’t realize until senior year what the term “box out” meant.) I also continued running for the track team, which I had been doing for two years already. That became my forte for the next four years of high school.

My sophomore year I really went out on limbs. With no previous experience or skill whatsoever, I decided to join the tennis team. That ended up being one of the best decisions as I continuously improved over the years and became one of the captains my senior year, playing No. 1 doubles for varsity. I also joined show choir and became involved with the Freeborn County Crisis Response Team.

Along with my upper-classmen years came my participation in advanced classes, National Honor Society, Link Crew, Ahlahasa and Homework Helpers. Some of my fondest memories came from being a part of the Homecoming Royalty and going all out for all the special dress-up days.

OK, so maybe I have come to better terms with the fact that change is inevitable. Without change, I would never move forward.

I just hope I can apply this positive change-is-OK-sometimes attitude to my college departure. I’m definitely excited to call my new residence Sioux Falls, S.D., (where Starbucks is right down the road and a huge mall is just a hop, a skip and a jump away) and meet new people. People that have the potential to be lifelong friends and maybe one that has potential to be more! USF offers unique activities, such as: intramural four-square, Zombies vs. Humans week, speed dating and their very own Olympics. And knowing my high school agenda, I figure I better get involved with as many things as possible.

But then again, high school will be tough to leave behind. I was so involved and enjoyed the people and activities so much; it’s hard to imagine that school could get much better. Even though I hear my friends who have already graduated saying, “College is way better than high school!” “You’ll never look back!” “I thought high school was great, but then I went to college…”

What if they’re wrong!

All “what ifs” aside, I know it will be good for me to get out of my comfort zone. In the next 24 days, I need to keep telling myself that this is just another new experience that has endless possibilities to be the best thing ever.

 

Colleen Thompson is an intern this summer at the Albert Lea Tribune.