TKC Letters Project - A Safe Place to Fall

February 24, 2023

When I first visited in New York City in 2017, I couldn’t have imagined I’d be living there one day. I remember my best friend saying she wanted to live here, and I was so sure that of the two of us, she was more likely to end up here. Ironically enough, I was the one who ended up in the city, at a school I didn’t know of the first time I was here.

Years later when I started searching for colleges, I knew I didn’t particularly want to go to a big school. The thought of sitting in a lecture hall with thousands of other students and being taught by someone who didn’t know my name aside from it’s association with my assignments didn’t pique my interest in the slightest. I wanted a smaller number of students, and I wanted classes that would be challenging. I didn’t want to just sail through gen eds without hardly any effort, and I wanted classmates who actually wanted to be in my classes and be at my school. As you can imagine, that narrowed down my options pretty well.

When I came across King’s, it easily made its way into my top choices for college, even when I was still convinced I’d pursue a career in Broadway. It stayed in my top choices because of the location, the ability for me to easily switch majors if I desired, and the liberal arts curriculum. I knew that despite all of its obvious positive aspects, it would also present a challenge. I am southern Californian born and raised and had only ever lived in the Golden State. Moving across the country, away from my immediate family and a majority of my extended family, would not be easy, and I knew that. But I knew I wanted to do it.

When COVID hit in 2020, my mental health took a toll, and I could tell I was in no place to make a cross-country move. Thanks to Kings Crossover, I was able to do online classes while still working on my mental health, all with the end goal of making it to the Big Apple. Though online was not ideal for me, I still worked towards coming to the city, and after MANY challenges and tears and changes in plans, I was ready to make the move. And now, I’m here, sitting in my apartment with a view of the Statue of Liberty.

I wish I could say things were easy from there. That everything fell into place and was all perfect and how I dreamed. The fall semester brought challenges of its own. But with every challenge and every new obstacle, I knew I had people in my corner. From my house members (shoutout to the queens of QE1, I love you all!) to The King’s Players, I always had a safe place to fall. The greatest gift this school has given me is the sense of community in a city of eight million people. I was given immediate connections, and I think that is largely why I didn’t give up on the city. That’s not to say that I don’t still feel lonely, but I know that I will always have people to laugh with at this school.

Community is so incredibly important. People who will pick you up, who will provide a safe place for you to fall, who will come alongside you in your worst moments and simply be there with you, that is more precious than anything the world could offer. We weren’t meant to do life alone. And thanks to Kings, I don’t have to.

With hope,

Sarah