For much of my sophomore year of college, I was very unhappy. There were many reasons for this, one of them being that I was feeling unsatisfied by my college experience.
At the time, I was attending a different school. Even though I was involved in many campus activities — choir, voice lessons, German club, film club, the literary magazine and the school newspaper — I still felt like I didn’t belong there anymore. Plus, I wasn’t working, and I was constantly aware of the fact that I had very little money. I questioned whether it was worth all the debt I was accumulating.
Over the summer, my parents gave me an ultimatum: Get a job to help pay for school or transfer somewhere less expensive. I was having trouble finding a job due to the chronic pain that I had in my hands, wrists, and arms that made doing certain kinds of work much harder, so this put a lot of stress on me. Even though I was going to be paying for college mostly by myself, I knew they were right. I wasn’t in a position to go to a school as expensive as the one where I was, especially with my lack of satisfaction.
Because my family lived in Louisville, my parents suggested Spalding University, which had a creative writing program that interested me and where I had applied and been admitted out of high school. I was reluctant at first because I had many friends at my first college whom I didn’t want to leave, but my parents and I ended up going to speak to Spalding’s admissions staff.
The people at Spalding helped put my mind at ease and made the process of transferring so much easier than I had anticipated. I also liked the idea of Spalding’s six-week sessions, in which you focus on one or two classes at a time; that was very different than anything I had done before.
My ideal college was a small one with a good creative writing program, and Spalding met those requirements. I also was interested in studying abroad, and Spalding had a study-abroad program to Ireland— where I had wanted to go for a very long time. It was too good to be true.
I spoke with the director of the creative writing program, Dr. Merle Bachman, who made me feel comfortable about the classes I would be taking. I also liked that I’d be required to do an internship. I had always wanted to do one, and I thought it would be a good transition to the real world.
I also would be living on campus in the Spalding Suites, which were much nicer than the dorms I was used to.
In the end, I said yes to Spalding.
One year later, I have gone on the study-abroad trip to Ireland for two weeks, started an internship at Louisville Literary Arts, and I live closer to my family and my fiancé.
I am very happy with the decision I made, and I’m excited for the rest of my senior year.
Allison Campbell is a Spalding University senior majoring in creative writing.