No, this is not a joke. Quite literally last year I experienced a phenomenon I would like to refer to as the "freshman epitome." I distinctly recall the first several weeks of freshman year being the most miserable time of my life. But I should probably preface this whole story.
When I was in high school, I was a rower. Being an athlete in high school presented me with many challenges that I had to overcome. Some of these challenges included sleep deprivation, lack of free time, and limited time for homework. I had practice five days a week, and during the fall and spring seasons, I basically had a race every single weekend.
I do not regret partaking in high school athletics, as it gave me my ticket to college. I knew I wanted to take my athletics to the next level, so I looked into a few schools to attend that offered division 1 programs, which gave me the most support and academic benefits. I chose to attend the University of Rhode Island because of its location, athletics, and academics.
I was ecstatic to be going to a school close to the beach, and being only a few hours away from home. When it came time to attend orientation, I had so much fun. We picked our classes, and I made some new friends. Once I got home, the countdown to move-in day began for me.
I remember the night before I was going to leave for school, I began getting very nervous. I had no idea what to expect. If I would have a hard time making friends, if the academics would be too challenging for me, if I would enjoy living in a dorm. These thoughts raced through my mind as I attempted to fall asleep that night.
When I woke up the next morning, the nerves had changed into a more intense, body numbing, mouth drying sensation. I would compare it to taking the SAT: not knowing what was sitting in front of you but knowing in a matter of minutes you would know your fate. My parents and I had loaded the car up, and we all got in. We decided to bring our dog along, too, because she loves road trips just as much as I do.
The car ride felt life forever, but it was only about four hours. When we arrived on campus, there were members of various Greek associations to help bring my things to my room. I met my roommates, Brenna and Kelsey, and we all settled in. Not to attempt and sugar coat this, but the first few days of move-in are possibly the most boring days of your life. Everyone is shuffling in and out of dorms, trying to find parties, and being sucked into the college hookup culture. I had rowing practice and made a few friends on the team, but something did not feel right for me.
The rowing team at URI was extremely welcoming and full of great people. However, I did not feel like I fit in, and I was no longer meant to be a student-athlete, just a student. After a few days of practice, I decided I no longer wanted to pursue being a student-athlete. So I sat down with the rowing coaches and told them my athletic career was coming to a close.
I left the meeting feeling empty, yet free. Sadness immediately set in for me, as I had more than enough free time and soon became very homesick. I would come home from classes and just sit in my bed and cry. I missed my dog, I missed my annoying brother and sister, but I mostly missed the comfort of home.
After a few days of crying, I called my parents and told them I wanted to come home and go to school at home. My dad, being the encouraging man he is, told me that every freshman is going through the same thing I am, and this feeling is going to be the same no matter where I am.
This was my epiphany.
So I sucked it up. Instead of going back to my dorm and crying, I went to my friends' dorms and did homework and began distracting myself with other activities so I would not have free time to miss home.
My advice for freshman missing home: keep yourself busy. Go get dinner with your friends, go to parties, eat tons of dining hall food (if its good). Most importantly, remember that everyone is going through the same feelings you are, and feeling sorry for yourself is not going to change it. Keep your head up!
