College concludes

And with that, my time as a student at Central College Nottingham has come to an end. The past two years have flown by - but what do I have to show for it? Well, two years ago I was a person without any sort of qualifications and a surplus of feelings about being underconfident. Now, I have GCSEs, in early August I will officially receive my Access diploma and I am a much more confident and more social person than I used to be.

I fully enjoyed Pre-Access, during which I acquired my GCSEs, but Access has been awesome and my efforts to make the most of it have been a massive success. Having a big yet close-knit class has been a huge amount of fun and being the class rep - or "class president", as my classmates referred to me as - increased my enjoyment of my course. Being able to take part in meetings about the school and meeting other class reps added to the experience. In Pre-Access I only knew two people from another class; this year, numerous students from other classes became my friends.

Besides students in other classes, I achieved a high degree of familiarity amongst many members of the staff. Purely by being in college so much and taking part in several activities, such as heavily using the library, class repping and even raising some more money for charity, I became a highly visible student; long before college ended I was constantly being greeted by staff, even if we'd never had any prior contact. Having so much recognition from staff and other students strongly contributed to Central feeling like another home for me. It's the one place outside family - and outside Wikipedia - in which I've truly felt I belong and I've achieved so much there.

I shall not take total credit for all my achievements, though. For one, I am grateful for my grandparents giving me the opportunity to stay with them to attend college; their willingness made this all possible in the first place. I've also been fortunate to have diligent teachers and amazing classmates, as well as received help from other vital denizens of the college, such as the librarians and the receptionists. Where I am now in life is because of their support and that of countless others. And let's not forget that Mum and my brother have been cheering me on, too, no matter what.

The only downside is that Dad saw hardly any of my progression over the last two years. Granted, he observed me start my journey but he wasn't able to be there the whole way through and beyond. There's so much I want to tell him but I can't.

Central is one of the most positive experiences of my life so far. I am saddened that the day I would have to leave has been and gone but I will forever credit the place for everything it has given me. I am a stronger and more confident person than I was two years ago thanks to it. University now awaits.