I remember back at Blair, when everyone was panicking and trying to decide which college to go to, quite a few people adamantly refused to consider staying in Maryland. I don't remember the exact figure, but some ridiculous fraction of the magnet ends up attending Maryland, and with such a large portion of the magnet collectively migrating to College Park, I guess it was a very real fear for people tired sick of the magnet that it would become Return of the Magnet: Part 2. But in the middle of sophomore year, I keep in touch with friends at out-of-state colleges more often than most of the thirty- or forty-some magnet kids (just on my graduating year) on this campus with me. To put it plainly: this campus is freaking massive, and you would have to really try in order to stay in the "magnet bubble."

I haven't regretted my decision to come to College Park. Though I suppose I wasn't one of the people especially concerned with escaping the magnet "rut." Quite the opposite, probably. But I've still moved forward. I've kept the friends that mean something to me and made new ones. Sure, I haven't strayed too far in terms of preferring a good chunk of nerdy in my friends and being in classes where the male-to-female ratio is along the lines of 5:1... But my life happily trucks along and hasn't come to that stand still people were afraid of.

This past year has been absolutely crazy and amazing. I've moved past a few leftover burdens and feel the healthiest I've ever been emotionally. So many good things came this year--of which, one is particularly good at making happy.