It has only been a week since I started college and I've already had many unexpected experiences.

The first was that having a roommate is one of the weirdest / best things ever (We both like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, so what could go wrong?).

Well, I have never minded being around other people and sharing space but sharing a dorm is such a new thing for me. For the past few years I've had a bedroom to myself and I really enjoy my alone time so it is weird to almost never be alone and to not have a space that is all mine. It’s not bad, just different. For example (and everyone can relate), going to sleep that first night is one of the weirdest experiences ever. It might be that recurring thought that your roommate is a serial killer but I'm not sure. Anyway, having a roommate is actually a good thing because he gets me out of the dorm and he has helped me make a good friend group and I have learned to appreciate the forced company of others. Though he would like it if I would stop dropping my laptop off my bed in the middle of the night, I think he has gotten used to having a roommate too.

The second is that I miss my family and friends more than I thought I would.

The longest I have been away from my family and friends is about 10 days when I went to Spain last year but going to college is stranger than that.

It's weird because all summer I was looking forward to some independence from my family and the opportunity to meet new people but I made the mistake of never taking enough time to truly appreciate what I already had. I miss being annoyed by my parents all the time because for every time they would make me roll my eyes they would make me smile. I miss the familiarity of home, the smells of home-cooked meals, the sounds of creaking steps I know by heart, and the feel of my family’s love all around me. I miss the inside jokes my friends and I spent years making, I miss the support they gave me, and I miss the memories we made together.

On the school part of college, I was surprised as well.

I never experienced it in high school but there is something so liberating in having the ability to study what you actually want to. I am not longer forced to take classes that would weigh me down with disinterest. I am encouraged to focus on what I love and it has made transitioning into college a hundred times easier.

I may have left home to come to Colby Sawyer but I already feel like Colby Sawyer is my second home. I have people that look out for me like my family and people that are there for me like my friends back home. I have a routine and am starting to see strange faces become familiar. I am learning the campus like the creaky spots in my stairs. I've been to dances and hypnotist shows and parties and soccer games and nothing has ever felt stranger and more at home all at once. I've also already been to the Dunkin Donuts down the road five times.

Go Chargers!