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In late April of last year, I faced a decision that would impact my life for the next four years as well as the rest of my life. The deadline to accept admission and the McConnell Scholarship at the University of Louisville was fast approaching. I had to make a choice to go to school just down the road or two and half hours away. To a school where I knew no one or one that I would know at least 100 people. To a school in a city of over a million people from a county of only sixty thousand. I was torn and terrified. On one hand, I was elated by the opportunity of coming to Louisville and being a McConnell Scholar, but on the other, I was frightened to make such a change of scenery and wanted to stay close to home.
While reflecting on my first year here at Louisville, two things resonate within me. First, a scripture from Proverbs that reads “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). As well as an excerpt from Marcus Aurelius’ meditations: “Nature brings what is best for each thing. And it is for each good at the time when nature brings it.”
I am truly grateful for the many opportunities, friendships, and changes that this decision has created in my life. While at times I do not love being so far away from home or being away from those whom I have known most- or all of my life; I would not change the decision that I made. I fervently believe that I am going in the direction I am meant to go in and that where I am is “good at the time.”
Shelby Disney is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2025. He is studying finance and political science at the University of Louisville.