A New Beginning in my life -college

             September third, two thousand and three. Possibly one of the most dreaded days in my life, yet. For the past fourteen years of institutionalized learning, I have become accustomed to surrounding myself with those who were familiar to me as my friends, and also those who are like me. The idea of being in a new place with new people, none of which I knew, is what scared me half to death. This experience turned out to be the complete opposite of what I had envisioned during the weeks leading up to this anxiety-filled affair.
             On the third, I arrived at Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ, approximately twenty minutes from my small home-town of North Arlington. To brief you, North Arlington is one square mile, and is almost entirely white. I've never had to worry about being to different from anybody else. It's not that I am scared of a diverse atmosphere, it's just that I am unaccustomed to it. After each summer break, I would return back to school, anticipating the familiar faces of those which I've grown up with over the years. Now, it would be unlike the past. Arriving at Bergen at about eight in the morning, I realized that I would know no one. Making my way to the building and room where my first class, sociology, was to be held, I walked and heard voices chattering, saw friends gathering in groups, and then there was me; by myself. I felt as though everyone else knew each other, and me; well I knew no one. I was an outsider.
             Full of apprehension, I waited nervously to enter the room, accompanied by a few other students. Once we entered the class, I took the seat closest to the door. Subconsciously, I think it was to assure myself that I would have the opportunity to escape, if needed. I not-so-patiently waited for the class to fill and once it was almost time for class to begin, I recognized a girl that I had met at a social gathering of mutual friends, about a month prior.