#CreatingMyOwnLife

Everyone always said to me that college is the best time of your life. You make your own schedule of things that you want to do. There is nobody creating your life for you. The first thing I thought when I got to college was, “This is the first day of the rest of my life. I get to make my own decisions now.” My first instinct was not to let go of childhood. I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Payton Storms, and I go to the University of Kansas (KU).

I was raised in a small town in Kansas, and moving to a bigger city was a big change for me. I saw a lot of growth in myself once I made the transition. I was a shy, introverted eighteen-year-old. I definitely changed in a big way once I started making friends and getting out of my comfort zone.

The things that I am now responsible for in order to take care of myself are things like education and meals. I have to pick out my own outfits. Health care is a big problem right now because not a lot of people have good health care during coronavirus.

I go to the store with my mom, and she helps me shop and get healthy foods. I would buy a bunch of junk food and not eat very healthy without help. I go to get groceries every two weeks. I cook my own food and eat leftovers for a week. My roommates and I normally eat by ourselves. I am getting myself up and getting myself to and from classes. I have some trouble getting to class on time sometimes, but that is Monday’s fault.

When I lived at home, I had to get a ride from my parents. We lived half an hour away from the Lawrence campus. Now I live five minutes away from campus. It is much closer of a distance than when I lived at home with my parents. The bus system was one of the things that I figured out all on my own. For transportation, I had to figure out how to take the bus and where they drop off. Sometimes I walk, but there are times that I need the bus, and they are really handy. There are three buses that I take to get to the places that I need to go.

Once I got to KU, I moved and everything. I started getting on different buses to learn where they go so if I ever needed to find a specific place, I knew which bus to get on. I use the Lawrence bus app on my phone to get around and to find out how fast they will be getting to me. I have helped other people find their way around. Like, there was one person who wanted to know the closest bus stop to Target, so I told him what stop to get off at.

The summer before college started is when I started to meet people in the program. It was over Zoom meetings because the coronavirus pandemic started during my spring break of high school. Covid broke free, and it started in China. It seemed like the world was ending, but I was given hope. Since I was shy, I didn’t want to come out of my shell and talk to people. Once I got to campus, I really opened myself to new experiences. I made more friendships.

The first week of college, when we were getting to know our little group of Transition to Postsecondary Education students here at KU, I met a friend; her name is Nicole. She and her sister had just moved into a townhouse, and they had one extra spare bedroom. I needed somewhere else to live besides my parents’ basement, so I moved in with them. Getting used to living with people that are not family members was a little bit of an adjustment. I didn’t do so well with the last couple of house changes.

I was in the foster care system for two and a half years, and I moved houses a lot when I was younger, so I got used to living with someone that I didn’t know. When I was six years old, I moved to Basehor, Kansas, with my sister who was eight years old. We got adopted when I was in second grade and she was in fourth. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I have this quote from Theodor Seuss Geisel that I try to live by: “When something bad happens, you have three choices: You can either let it define you, let it destroy you, or let it strengthen you.” I have loved that quote since I was a little kid. I think in this home, I am here to stay, and I have never felt so at home here than I am now.

Since I am only part-time in this program, I have more time for fun clubs and activities. I am already in a club, the KU Fun Club. It is a club that goes and does fun things together. Like they go and get coffee at McLain’s Market, a go-to spot for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks, or go to football games together. I have not gone and hung out with them yet, but they meet every Monday. I have been too busy with school and schoolwork. They go somewhere and play Dungeons and Dragons. The student union activities are a lot of fun to go to. There are movie nights, bingo nights with food, and outdoor activities like dances and other fun things.

I also have a really fun peer mentor. Her name is Katy, and she likes to go get coffee a lot. Personally, I don’t like coffee; I am more of a tea drinker. Her major is pre-nursing. We do a lot of things together. We have gone to the park together, eaten ice cream together, and walked the streets of downtown together. The week before our next meeting, we plan out the next thing that we will do.

My parents and I have a changing relationship that is turning into a friendship. I still don’t think that my dad has made the transition. Every time I see him, he still treats me as if I never left the house, reminding me of things I already know. I think that once he starts to see me as an adult, then our friendship will change and be different. He won’t be telling me what to do anymore. I don’t know when he’ll see me as an adult, maybe when I am out of college. Maybe when I grow up and get married. I don’t know.

I am taking two classes since I am part-time here. One of my classes is career-based. I am learning about things that you have to have before getting a job, like a résumé and good references. The other class is learning about the college.

I did a lot of planning for my future here at KU. I always wanted to be a Jayhawk. Now that I am, it is super exciting. I am looking forward to taking a journalism class in the spring semester. I am really interested in this class because I love to write. I found my love for writing in eighth grade when I started to write a book of my own about my life, like a biography. I am almost done with that one. Now I just have to get people to edit it for me and help me publish it.

In my spare time, I just watch Netflix. Right now, I have a few shows I am in the middle of. They are called Riverdale, Gilmore Girls, and Sister, Sister. I would love a job as a librarian because I like to read also, so I could check out a couple of books; also, I just need some cash. My dream job would be as a computer help assistant or something because I am a great help when someone has trouble with something on any electronic device.

Navigating trying to find a job in this pandemic is hard in itself. I am turning in several job applications, and not one single job has called me back. I have applied to a bunch of places, like grocery stores, auto parts stores, and restaurants. I applied all on my own. Now I am working with my career adviser to help polish my résumé and work on my cover letter.

College is the best time of my life right now. You get to be your own kind of person; there’s nobody that is making your decisions for you. My first instinct when I got here was to not let go of childhood. The moment my parents left, I was an adult that had to figure something out by myself.