Chapter 13: Crafting Excellence through Trauma

Grappling life here at Berea was not how I expected it to be. Considering the high school that I came from, I didn’t expect Berea to be as challenging as it was. Coming in, I was nearsighted to the glamor of ”free tuition.” While all it did was cloud my decisions. The free tuition caused me to choose between Berea College and Murray State University. They were at the top of my list because of their affordability and community standards. Berea had been the first of my top three choices, followed by Murray State University, then Morehead State University. I never had to apply to the third option, as Murray State University had already accepted me. It wouldn’t have been until weeks later that Berea would have gotten word back to me. I was scared. I hadn’t felt deserving of Berea, as I felt it was a reach school. The day I got the letter back, I almost cried. My dreams were all falling into place. The feeling was pure euphoria.