Imagine graduating from a school you never wanted to be attached to. Never wanting to see a certain school following your name after your Bachelor’s degree, never desiring to wear maroon and gold to a Gopher game.

The last thing I wanted to be as a high school student in central Minnesota was a Gopher. During my time at St. Cloud Cathedral, I saw everyone graduate before me and attend the same three schools: College of St. Benedict’s, St. Thomas University or the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. All of these colleges have gained a reputation for having strong programs and smart graduates in their own respect, but I did not want to go to the same school as my classmates. And to top it all off, I did not want to go to the same school as the vast majority of my family.

I needed to find my own identity after graduating from Cathedral. Up until May 24, 2019, I had only seen myself as a transfer student. Having been to five different schools from pre-kindergarten through senior year. I had always been the transfer – the new kid – it was the only thing I could use to identify myself. I needed something different.

So different that it involved moving exactly 1,286 miles away from home to the University at Albany, SUNY in Albany, New York. I thought this distance would be what I needed to create my own identity. My own life. But, I was missing connections to my school and new life. Everyone I met was from N.Y. – or at least the New England area. No one knew the QB for the Vikings, or what the Mall of America was, and no one cared to learn about tater tot hotdish. Instead, most of my freshman year was spent turning myself into a ‘New Yorker:’ a Yankees fan, someone who rarely uses crosswalks and someone who says “soda”.

I hate the Yankees, using crosswalks is safe and it’s pop.

But, there still was no way I would become a Gopher. That was the last thing on my mind as the pressure of the pandemic forced me to choose between changing my personality or changing schools. As I submitted my application to the University from the comfort of my own room at home in St. Cloud, all I could think about was letting myself and everyone down as I couldn’t finish what I started. Even at the expense of my personality, I felt like I failed. If I couldn’t succeed in one goal, what was the point in trying to succeed at all?

But transferring was not failing at school, life or relationships. Transferring just meant a reset, the chance to try again and the chance to try something different.

Oct. 19 marks the end of  National Transfer student week. And begins the end of my transfer experience.

Transferring is not a bad thing. In fact, it can be a good thing. It is not failing at school, life or relationships. Transferring just meant a reset, the chance to try again and the chance to still try something different.

I have learned to be proud of my trials and errors throughout my educational career. Being able to experience an array of different teaching styles at a variety of schools is something I am now proud of. It also has given me, and all other transfer students, the best icebreaker to use in any and all classes.

Transferring still may be my identifier. But it’s no longer a burden on my life; it’s become a celebrated part of my life. And being a Gopher has been the best, and the worst at times. But at least I’ll be graduating as someone I like: a transfer student.

 Sara Morris is a senior at the Hubbard School of Journalism.