Why Transferring Colleges During the Pandemic Was the Best Move and How I Survived

It was my junior year in high school, and I was traveling through college campuses in South Carolina and Florida to find the perfect one. Walking through its campus, I envisioned myself as a student at the University of Miami. I had a plan. I was going to study marine biology and graduate in four years. UM and my marine science/biology double major felt right at the time. But, after failing both my marine science and my biology classes my first year, I knew I had made the wrong decision. I felt lost and confused after wanting to be a marine biologist for two years (which felt like a long time then).

I stayed in Miami because it felt like the right decision for me. This was my dream school in high school. I couldn't leave. After some thinking, I thought changing my major to film with a journalism minor would be a good move. I loved watching movies and learning about the process behind making them, and I always prided myself on being a good writer. Yet, my anxiety made me think I was a horrible writer and filmmaker. This was only heightened by the nervousness I felt every time I had to present my news stories, scripts, or short films. My anxiety about my schoolwork mixed with the fact that I had no friends made me depressed. I knew Miami wasn't right for me anymore. 

I talked to my advisor about transferring out of Miami during the second semester of my sophomore year. He told me that I can take the rest of the semester off and start the next semester at a new school. That sounded great to me at the time. I was homesick from being 1,100 miles away from my family and friends and I was feeling depressed and lonely. I thought I could get a job at home in Maryland and apply to schools and everything would be okay. My parents wouldn't let me leave, though. They told me I could stick it out for the last few months. In hindsight, I'm glad they made me stay but at the time, I was devastated. I wished every day for something to happen so I could go home. Then COVID hit and I was unable to go back. It was the best and worst thing to happen. I was home with my family, but I had to deal with a deadly virus.

I finished my classes at Miami online while applying to different colleges to attend in the fall. I wasn't going to apply to Pace University at first. I changed my mind when my therapist told me I should apply to schools in New York. I knew a few people from high school that went to Pace, and they all seemed happy there. I was so excited when I got in. I could start fresh in my favorite city. 

I changed my major to Communications because it felt broad enough. My advisor at Pace told me I should add a Film and Screen Studies minor because of all the film credits I had from Miami. I later took a marketing class that I enjoyed, so I decided to add a marketing minor as well. Some of my credits didn't transfer from Miami, so I had to take on an extra year at Pace to catch up. My life didn't go as planned, but I'm so much happier now.