Moving out of state is a really hard thing to do, especially if you are an introvert and have social anxiety like I do. I chose Catawba because it was small. I know that I like to be with a smaller group of people and I felt at home here in North Carolina. As an Alabama native, North Carolina feels pretty similar, and yet I still don't feel at home. My parents didn't make it any easier by moving to South Florida a week before I drove North to move in. They also couldn't be here to move me in, so my aunt helped me. These are a few things I experienced in moving from Alabama to North Carolina, and maybe you've dealt with some of the same things.
1. Culture Shock
More often than not, you hear about culture shock from people moving from one country to another, or from the deep south to New York City. It's not something you think you'll have just moving from the deep south to the slightly less deep south. People just act different anywhere you go, so you must learn their ways. For me, that means learning to love Cook Out.
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2. Homesickness
As someone who has gone to summer camp since second grade, I didn't think I would get homesick, but one day I was talking to my mom on the phone in Target and I just got hit with it. It's a pit in your stomach that just makes you wanna hug your mama. My mom is an 11 hour drive away, so I just sort of let myself cry and feel it, until I couldn't cry anymore. You can't help the way you feel, and in this situation the only way out is through.
3. "I just want a Milo's Hamburger!"
This one is somewhat specific to me, but just insert the food you miss most from home. For me, it's a local chain of hamburger restaurants. They have a secret sauce that just cannot be replicated! They also have amazing sweet tea and when I found it in the local Walmart I almost cried. I'm a foodie, so I associate home with certain foods and Milo's is one food that is Alabama specific. Everyone has that one thing that just their town has, and you crave it when you can't have it, or at least I do.
4. You get jealous of people who stayed at home
The majority of my friends either went to University of Alabama, or Auburn University. They are two hours away from my hometown, at the maximum. I see their Facebook posts and I wish for half a second that I just stayed at home. The truth is that it wouldn't be home anymore, my parents were going to move regardless, but I still wonder how my year would be going if I had stayed in Alabama.
These are just some of the things I've run into as an out of state college student.
