Throughout my life I have desired to gain increasing amounts of knowledge and understanding to form a person I imagined would be poised and intelligent, well-rounded in many subjects, and able to take care of themselves with a certain amount of grace and apparent ease. I believed that college would spark this personal transformation, that somehow overnight I would grow from the scatterbrained, clumsy person I’ve been my entire life into someone who suddenly knows how the world works, someone who can connect all aspects of their life and see the big picture of everything. I dreamed of attending an austere ivy league in the North, becoming politically and socially involved in issues that I would suddenly find inspiring; I would be a picture of youth taking charge in society. Without any real knowledge of these institutions or lifestyles, I somehow assumed, as Jude does, that “‘It would just suit me’” (Bump 653).

However, as the time approached to apply to these prestigious schools approached, I found myself questioning these dreams, these images I had of my future self that I knew was nothing like the person I truly am. This introspection led me to the University of Texas, a place I have grown up admiring, a place where everyone could find a place, where everyone could feel welcome, where all dreams would be encouraged and actively pursued. I imagined a hub of creativity and free-thinking where I would be able to grow into who I really am. I felt that here is where I will find my true passion, I may scatter my studies over many disciplines, combing Engineering and Liberal Arts, but here is the place where I will find “something to anchor on, to cling to,” (Bump 653). I may struggle, I may change my mind, I may not even find this passion in college, but I know that if I continue to strive for knowledge, to appreciate my true self and the world around me, I will find whatever it is I am looking for.