When I decided to transfer to Central Michigan University from Grand Rapids Community College in 2022, the college experience was still full of unknowns.
I had yet to have a college class in person due to COVID-19. I had never lived anywhere outside of home and was going to a place I had never been.
Everything was new, and something that I am not good at is change.
However, as I head into my last semester at CMU, I can't imagine my life without the people I have met here. I have had access to so many opportunities that I would've never imagined if I stayed in my comfort zone.
The biggest piece of advice I would give incoming transfer students is to go out and find a job, RSO or club that fits your passion right when you arrive on campus.
When I arrived here, I knew two people at the university. One of those people steered me towards Central Michigan Life.
It was the first place I went when I got here, and it has been the most impactful place on campus for me.
I have met my best friends there, who have had such a big impact on me as a person.
I have been able to find so many opportunities, including covering football at Michigan State and Notre Dame, attending three MAC tournaments and developing my skills in audio and writing.
Now, that doesn't mean that it hasn't come with challenges. I felt extremely lonely and out of place when I got to campus. I lived off-campus and felt like it was so hard to meet new people.
I also felt behind. The people in my year had already gotten to know campus and had established friend groups.
I would have done anything to go back to where I was comfortable, working at a restaurant that I served at for five years and being back with my family and friends in Lowell.
But, if I gave up and didn't push myself beyond my comfort zone, I wouldn't have met my best friends. I wouldn't have grown as a journalist and as a person.
Change is scary, and it comes with many challenges and obstacles that you will have to face, but I promise you it is worth it.
Get engaged on campus, go to sporting events, join a club that interests you and find events on campus. That is how I met some of the most important mentors and friends in my life, and you will too.
Don't fear the unknown as you step onto a new campus. Instead, know that there are people in your corner who are going to cheer you on and there are places you belong.
You just have to take the jump.
Kaia Zimmerman is Central Michigan Life sports editor and summer news editor. The senior transfer student is slated to graduate in December 2024.