[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”19732″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Born and raised in Montgomery, Ala., it was never that much of a stretch for me to leave home to go to college less than 60 miles away from home. To be honest, I didn’t expect that much out of Auburn. I knew that I would receive a good education and make a few friends, but I never expected my time there to be truly formative years where I began my journey of self-discovery.
So many things changed for me during my years in Auburn. I changed my major, I studied new languages, I failed classes, I wrote papers, I aced classes, of course. But more importantly, I lived. I had my heart broken, I fought with friends, I screamed at my mom, I made friends, I argued with random roommates over broken dishware and stained carpet, I broke hearts, I ate dinner with friends, I left people who were pulling me behind and some did the same with me, I cried (Oh, boy, did I cry), I drank lemonade and ate popsicles, I flirted, I danced, I laughed, I fell, I stayed up so, so late, I threw up, I broke glasses with friends when we were mad at life and boys, I smoked cigarettes, I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I worked with people I love, and so, so much more.
Ultimately, I felt drawn to travel and live somewhere else and grow in different ways and I knew that I had to leave Auburn, but my time there made its mark. I’ll never forget the place where life started for me. Or the people who helped me get to where I am today.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]