University VS. Community College.

Hello everyone,
A lot has been on my mind lately. All of which has much to do with college, adult life, and the like. As you may already know, I will be moving into the dorms in just 13 short days. At the end of this coming week, on the 25th, I will officially no longer be employed at The Dixie Saloon. I'll have one week after that to pack up my things, buy whatever else I may need, and find another job near the college. After that, it's the busy, busy, go-no-stop college life for me.
All of this is happening really fast, and thinking about all that I must do, and all that is to come is somewhat overwhelming. What's more overwhelming is the feeling I get while anticipating the response of those who I have just told 'I am choosing to go to community college over a university.' So today I'd like to clear a few things up.

First and foremost: I am very happy for all the people that are traveling far away and going to big universities. In fact, my very best friend is one of those people. She is very smart, and talented, and she is going to do so many good things in her life. She is very excited to be going to a university, and I am excited for her. I am by no means trying to bash people who are choosing to go to big colleges far from home. This is because choosing a college is a very personal thing, and we are all very different individuals, so it would only make sense that some of us will stay, and some will go. What I want people to understand is that, if I choose not to talk bad about their choice to go to college far from home, because it makes them happy, they should not choose to talk bad about my choice to go to community college, which happens to be close to home, because it makes me happy.
That being said, I'd like to address a few of the comments that have been made about my decision, and refute them in my defense. The comments go something like this:

"A person experiences new things when they go to a college that is far from their home town."
That may be true, however, I am here to tell you that you don't have to run from everything you know to experience new things. I am sorry for the people who cannot open their hearts and their minds enough to experience new things close to home. There are tons of new people and things to do in even the smallest of towns. You'll never know every person in the town you live in. Don't think for one second that I will not experience anything new in the years I attend a community college. I am not a small minded person, and I can guarantee that I will experience new things; you don't have to live 200+ miles from home to do so. All you have to do is have an open mind. *I should also say, I understand that you will experience things far from home. It will be easy to experience new things because everything is new: the people, places, and everything else. There is so much to experience in a new place, however, that does not mean that there is nothing to experience in an old place.*

"People who attend universities learn a lot more than people who go to community college."
If you know anything about college, you know that the first couple years are all basic classes anyways. You take the same thing no matter where you go. 10 years from now when we have all graduated from college, people will look at us all the same. I don't know if anyone ever told you, but no one cares how far you travel from home to get a college education. It doesn't matter what school you went to, what matters is what you did while you were there- no matter where you went. You can go to the best school in the world, and when you are compared to someone who went to a community college, it only matters how well you did while you were there, not where you went. I plan to use my resources, not waste my time, and apply myself at the community college I have chosen so that I can be sure I will learn all that there is to offer. You only learn less at a community college if you are unintelligible enough to believe that there is less to learn. *I should also say, It may be true that universities offer a large variety of classes, and may have some that community colleges do not have, but that does not mean that community college is no good. There are many classes that universities offer that are useless toward a degree. Fortunately for me, the community college I have chosen offers the classes I need for my degree. So, saying that you learn less in community college is not true. Depending on what you need to learn for your career path, community college may teach you all that you need to learn, whereas in a university you may be paying to learn things that you don't need to know. Its not about how much you can learn, its about how much you need to learn.*

"You're go to community college and you think you're saving money,  ohh you're superior to me."
Here's the thing, you can mock me all you want, but I don't 'think' I'm saving money, I know I am, because little do you know, I actually had everything ready for me to go to a university. I had my housing deposit paid, my orientation date set, my roommate picked out, and had already viewed the campus and made up my mind that GVSU was the right college for me. However, after a lot of consideration, my mind was changed because of the debt I would be in if I chose to go there for a full four year term. Just one year would have costed me over 22,000 dollars, whereas, here at North Central Michigan College, the community college I've chosen, I will only be expected to pay about 6,000 for one year. The difference is incredible. So, in response to your little comment about me being 'superior' to you, I may not be superior because I am saving money, but I am superior because I CHOSE to save that money, which is what makes the real difference between you and I. I know how to be responsible with my money, I know what kind of future I want for myself (a debt-free one), and I know how to make hard decisions that don't always favor the most pleasant option. So, go ahead, continue to mock me. Think what you like, but when you're thousands of dollars in debt because you picked the more favorable option to be cool, we'll see how you're managing things with your life 20 years down the road. *I should also say, if you are going to a university and you have the funds to do so without being in debt, good for you! I'm not saying that everyone who goes to a university will be in debt. I am referring to those who are being foolish with their money and are mocking me for being smart with mine. If I had the funds, I would go to a university too, however, that isn't in the books for me.*

"I just want to get away from this small town and see what else is out there."
Do you really think that because I am choosing to go to community college that that means I don't want to see the rest of the world as well? Of course I'd love to move to a big city and see things I've never seen before. The problem is, by doing so, I'll never have any money to go see anything else. It is unfortunate that people who wish only to go to a university far from home for the sole purpose of getting out of their home town cannot find beauty and peace with their current surroundings. I don't have to run from everything I've ever known to see new things. There is so much already here that is overlooked. *I should also say, getting away from this town would be great. Everyone deserves a break, but you should never run from your problems or your past (not that that's what people who are going to universities are doing) but in general, trying to start over is sometimes not possible when there is so much unfinished business holding one back from starting out fresh. If you are in the clear, though, go for it, explore the world; there is plenty to see.*

Before I close this post I want to point out a few more things:
If you are a person who has chosen the university college life, I am sincerely happy for you. As I mentioned above, everyone has their own reasons for staying or going, and choosing is a very personal thing. I am by no means placing every person who has gone to a university, or who plans to go to a university, in the same category. My responses to these comments are only to the people who have made it a point to make me feel as though I am making the wrong choice by going to community college. My reasons for going to community college are about family, unfinished business, money, and personal wishes. All very personal things. So, if you are going to a university, or community college, and you are happy with your choice and understand that others are happy with their choice, then my responses to these comments have nothing to do with you. I am only addressing the people who seem to misunderstand what community college means to me, and the reasons I have made the choice I have.

No matter where you're going, congratulations to you, and good luck with your future endeavors.

Oh, and by the way, I got a hair cut yesterday. 3 inches off.