In my experience Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT) will work to open minds and help transition a person. It can take someone from a place of not being open to challenges and having a closed mindset to one of openness and allowance for ambiguity and new ideas. This paper shows the transitions I have made in my career by way of a tragic incident and the structure I hope to create in a new class focusing on the college freshman. Included is a sample of the CCT curriculum I hope to teach to this class- both more thorough, concrete plans as well as less fleshed out, quite abstract outlines. By facilitating a new way of thinking, viewing and going through transitions in my student’s lives with the use of CCT I aim to help them to get through this upending time of their lives. My transition is parallel to the students in that we are both going to a new place in our lives. They will move on into the world as better thinkers and I hope to have less fear and more direction for the future as a teacher again.