As encounters continued, I learned, and gradually became more comfortable around new people. By breaking the myopic social anxiety that restricted my participation in activities to only ones in which I had a friend to do it with, I found myself able to better advance my own goals. I spoke to a teacher I had never spoken to before, and join a club that focused on volunteering, Club Interact. This was something I would have never done three years ago. I applied for jobs, and attended three interviews before receiving an offer. After being rejected the first time, past me would have likely given up, if he had even went to the interview at all. Moving allowed me to learn more about the world as a whole, and coaxed me out of my metaphorical shell, which likely would have never happened had I stayed in McFarland, Wisconsin. These combined have made me the person I am today: A working, functioning, (almost) adult. While the word "y'all" may not become a part of my diction any time soon, I am proud to call myself a southerner, the location in which I truly came of