Having been born at Norwalk Hospital and soon after transported to my home in Westport, it’s nothing but natural for me to be scared for next year: college.

New people, new places, new school, new streets, new stores, new restaurants, new everything. For 17 years I have lived in the same place with the same people and it has suddenly hit me that all of it will be gone in just a few months.

I can confidently say that I know Westport like the back of my hand. I know which Starbucks to go to at certain times of the day in order to avoid long lines; I have the Sherwood Diner menu memorized and know they only serve mac and cheese on Fridays; I know how to perfectly hit the large bumps in the road when pulling into the public library.

Not only will I soon be separated from these familiar places, but also the even more familiar faces. The thought of leaving the people I’ve been going to school with since kindergarten is terrifying, but at the same time the idea of a fresh start is thrilling.

College opens the door to not only meeting new people and finding new friends, but also to figuring out who you want to become. Although my future is still a cloud of uncertainty today, one thing I am sure of is that although I’m scared, I’m also ready to take what I have learned these past 17 years living in Westport to a new place.

As we have all heard over and over: college will the best four years of our lives. While it seems impossible to look forward to leaving the place I grew up in, I can’t help but wonder and even hope that these next four years will live up to their good name.