Senior year got here a lot faster than I imagined it would.

The unfamiliar teachers, the strangers that sat beside me in class, and the cafeteria that always seemed crowded to the point of claustrophobia have all become normal.

Those teachers have become saving graces. The strangers are now friends. And the cafeteria is almost tame.

And just when I get comfortable, I’m having to make another change.

College.

College is something everyone thinks about. At least once. Bigger and better campuses and classes that are focused on what you want to do sound great. But as it gets closer, I realize that everything I have made normal has to change.

My home, my job, my everything. It all has to change. And that’s an exciting thing, but with every wonderful thing in life, there is a downside.

I sit in my floor. Legs crossed and music playing in the background.

Clothes are strung across my floor. Pictures scattered across the bed. And I just stare.

Everything I have collected and packed into my room for the past three years sits in front of me. Some make me smile.

Some cry. But it’s all memories.

I glance around and something shines. A small glimmer of gold catches my eye, and I shuffle through junk to find an old plaque. A choir award. I instantly think of all the competitions, the hard practices, and the friendships made because of choir. And I miss it.

I look a little more, and shake my head at the stack of newspapers sitting in my bookshelf. I pick one up from my freshman year, and just stare at it. I didn’t think I would be able to do it again after high school, and I’d miss that too.

So, all I could do was think.

“Why can’t I just do both?”

About half way through my junior year, I changed. I wanted to go to a different college and couldn’t find the music degree I wanted. I wanted to be able to actually record and create something on my own.

Of course, journalism took a back seat, but it wasn’t forgotten. Newspaper and photography have been a part of me for years.

So I found something completely different.

I was searching the university’s web site. Just seeing what I could find. Scrolling down the pages and pages of information, I clicked on the mass communications degree plans on a whim. And it turned out to be perfect.

Electronic media and communications has everything. Web design, photography, journalism, film, and recording. Everything that I had imagined using alongside music.

I decided I like the idea of using technology and print to express my creativity. It is what I’ve been doing to almost four years now. It’s something that I consider normal.

I’ve never thought about a mass communications degree. Or that I’d be doing anything other than music for the rest of my life. But things change. Since looking into Texas Tech, a lot has changed. And often times, things change for the better.

No, I won’t be in the same house. The same school. Or even the same town. But I’ll be with at least one of my best friends, in a school I never thought I would be, and doing everything I love.

All at one time.