Recently posted by Olga Karagiannis

For those of you that don't know me- I love quotations. Always have. I love how so much wisdom can be packed into a paragraph or less and then taking the time to reflect on what it means. Honestly, I think it all started with the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books my mom used to get me during my pre-teen years, when everything seemed like the end of the world (...the most popular guy at school just walked by and smiled at me... OMG! I hope he asks me to the dance on Friday night...as I proceed to write my first name with his last name all over my notebook...)   

Every month I'd like to share with you a quotation that means something to me. And by all means, please post back on what it means to you!

"Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete.
If you're alive, it isn't."
-Richard Bach

Thoughts?

Oftentimes I get asked, "Where did you go to school?"

After I answer them and rave about Simmons, I usually get the follow up question of "Does Simmons know that you are a walking advertisement for them?"

The truth is- I love Simmons College and I want the whole world to know about it. I didn't just spend four years away from home, partying and studying occasionally. I grew up more in those four years than I did in the previous 18. I met my friends that "get me" and will be there for me for a lifetime. I gained a better understanding of the world and more importantly, of myself, which I am so thankful for.

Simmons wasn't always my first choice school though. Rewind to Spring 2003. I was a senior in high school in southern New Hampshire. I attended public, coed schools pretty much my entire life up until that point. I knew I wanted to go to "the big city" (aka Boston) for undergrad, but also knew I wouldn't make it in a large university setting. While most of my peers were staying local, I was looking to go out of state. I loved the calm simplicity of my New Hampshire upbringing, but I never really felt like I fit in. I've always been more of a city gal myself.

Thanks to the Common Application, I was able to apply to as many schools as I wanted. I narrowed it down to a few coed Boston area private institutions that were as different as night and day. My mom threw in a real monkey wrench and asked me to take a closer look at Simmons as well.

After a Simmons campus tour, I told my mom that the school was beautiful and offered a lot of educational resources, but I didn't think that the "all girls thing" was the right choice for me. My mom not willing to take that as an answer had me do an overnight visit. I'm sure that could have been a great idea except it was in the middle of midterm exams and no one left their dorm rooms except for dinner at Bartol. While midterms are a very real part of the college experience, it's not really what you want to highlight to prospective students. Needless to say, I left my overnight visit feeling the same way that I came in.

March came and the heat was on for picking the institution that I would be attending in the fall. In the end it came down to a medium sized Boston based university, a small private Catholic college in the Boston area (which I was offered a scholarship to) and Simmons. I threw out the medium sized Boston based university when they wouldn't offer me any on campus housing (I didn't want to live off campus my first year. That was a whole lot of responsibility I wasn't ready for, plus it makes it difficult to meet people.) To make my final decision, I decided that I would sit in on a class at the remaining two schools.

While I sat in on a class at the small private Catholic college in the Boston area, I felt like I was in high school all over again. The loud, jokester guys were in the back of the class and the quiet girls that like to learn were closer to the front. That day, they happened to be giving presentations and they were a joke. I kid you not, one group of the loud, jokester guys held up a posterboard that they clearly put together the night before and showed a clip of the Dave Chapelle show (did I mention it was an English class?) To top it all off, the school didn't really offer my communications major.

I then sat in on a communication class at Simmons and I had a "Eureka!" moment. Here I was in a small class full of smart women that liked to learn and weren't afraid to show it. Each student had a nice computer provided to them and a roomy space to work in. There was a great professor facilitating a hands-on lecture and encouraging discussion- even with me and I wasn't a student there! I knew that this is where I was meant to be all thanks to Professor Dan Connell's Journalism course, which I later took my junior year.

I find it really funny how things work out in the end. The following fall I entered Simmons College as a freshman and had the best time. I really blossomed as a person in my four years there (all of which I was given on-campus housing for!) I graduated feeling prepared for all of the challenges that lay ahead and a "kick butt" attitude. I was no longer afraid to speak my mind.

The professors at Simmons are so knowledgeable in their fields and are wonderful people too. They support you in your journey, cheering you on even after graduation when you're out making your mark in the world.

I think it also goes without saying that the age old adage "Mamma knows best" is true as well!

I believe I chose Simmons as much as Simmons chose me. And choosing to go there was the best decision I ever made.