Ever since the beginning of my high school career I knew that when I got to college I wanted to live in the Southern Scholarship Foundation. I had two older sisters that were either living in SSF or starting there shortly. My parents and I put down deposits with on campus housing just as a back-up, but we were hoping I would be living in SSF just like my sisters. I have three older sisters and my parents weren’t able to completely financially support our college education. My sisters and I worked summer jobs and applied for scholarships to help pay for college but when my second oldest sister started living in SSF that changed our lives.
I thought I was prepared to live in SSF because I had 3 sisters and I was used to sharing tight spaces with them. My parents always made us help cook and clean, so I thought that would help me adjust to the SSF life. I also heard a lot of stories from my older sisters and was able to visit their houses many times. These experiences did not prepare me for the wonderful community of SSF.
When
I first arrived at SSF I was really shy. I was intimidated by the other girls in my house because they were older and many of them had lived in the house for years. I thought that I wasn’t going to fit in or be friends with many of the girls in the house. But, as the semester went on I realized the treasure that my housemates were. As I got to hang out with the girls in my house, I was able to better appreciate them and their personalities. This appreciation made me realize that I wanted to be better friends with these girls and not just ‘housemates.’
This is the second year I have lived in SSF and I have been able to put myself out there and create the relationships in and out of my house that I always dreamed of. I can honestly say that the girls I live with are some of my best friends. They are the people I go to when I need advice on my outfit or someone to have a deep talk with. They are the people I sit on the couch with for five hours straight and watch TV.
This past year has also helped me to appreciate getting connected inside and out of my house. I want to help the girls in my house that may be shy like I was at first, to get out into the community of the foundation. Being able to meet and socialize with people from other houses and backgrounds is one of the greatest experiences in SSF.
Being involved in SSF has made me a better person and given me such great growing experiences .I have met and become friends with so many people that I never would have been able to meet because of SSF. I’ve been able to volunteer in the office and get to know the staff better. I have even been able to meet some of the board members that so generously help this foundation run. I now have friendships that I never could have dreamed of. College is nothing like I expected it to be. It is better than I ever imagined because of SSF.
*If you would like to sponsor a student like Sarah, please visit our ‘Sponsor a Student’ page here: http://bit.ly/SSFSponsorship
