I worked my butt off all four years of highschool in order to make it to Columbia College.
It was my dream, my goal and my purpose for those four years. When I finally got my acceptance letter, it was such a relief. I was finally going to the school of my dreams. I considered the programs offered at the school. The prestige. The colors of the college, the kinds of people, etc. What I didn’t consider is that Columbia is in Chicago. Sure I thought of the city a bit and how fun it would be to walk around it. I didn’t think about the weather though. Illinois is super cold! There is snow and ice and severe windchill. I realized that the cold weather was kicking my butt. My first year of school I lived in the dorms and froze my butt off. Year two I tried an apartment in the city. It was super expensive to live in a shoe box with nothing more than a space heater. My last two years I got smart. I rented a house in Glenview IL. It was a 35 minute drive to school in city traffic but worth it. I had a house vs a small apartment. I had a whole home heater vs a space heater. I lived in a rural area with cheaper food, gas and accommodations. I got more bang for my buck. I really liked Glenview too. The people were nice and friendly. The area was clean. If I was a cold weather fan, I totally would have made it my permanent home. After graduating at Columbia, I was done with the snow though.