The common application — if you’ve ever been on this dreaded website, you likely shuddered seeing its name written out. Not to one-up all the one-time common app users, but I endured the pain of common app TWICE. Luckily, during my first go-around in high school I only applied to two schools, one of them being Kenyon.
I never understood what people meant when they said they just knew somewhere was their place until I stepped onto Kenyon’s campus. I had been on a string of college visits all throughout the summer and was, truthfully, exhausted. Kenyon was just another quick stop on the list: an excuse to hop out of the car and walk around for a little. I thought I’d wanted to go to a big school, but when I stepped on campus my vision turned panoramic — that's the only way I could describe it. It was like I unlocked part of my perception. I’d never had the experience of feeling welcome as a foreign person, but that's exactly how I felt as I walked down Middle Path for the first time.
I began to reach out to my professors, something I’d been far too anxious to do before. I always struggled with academic authority. I was always too formal or not formal enough (in my head of course). But when I finally started going to office hours and discussing my questions with professors, I began to grow bonds beyond the student friendships that I couldn't see myself without. I vividly remember my