After all this time, the day was finally here. I had been counting down the days for months in my excitement, and I had finally arrived on campus at Hollins University. I knew everyone was sad to see me leave, but I could not find it in me to be sad because I was just too excited to be here. The drive down the night before was exciting and filled with my playlist of perfect music. I finally arrived at my hotel, excited to know that other students from the group chat I was in were staying in the same hotel.
I was nervous about how the day would go because it would be just me and my divorced parents, without my sibling or their partners to buffer the tension. As the years have passed my parents have gotten less awkward around each other, and they were even close to being friends at one point. Lately, things have been tenser, but they have been and will always be on speaking terms, so I knew it wouldn't be too terrible.
The check in line was an absolute mess when I arrived. If you have never been to the Hollins campus before, it is one of the most soothing places on Earth for me. There is so much nature and wildlife - I've seen more bugs, squirrels, bunnies, and horses than anywhere else in my entire life. There is a stillness and a solid air of sisterhood among the campus that is like no other. Walking in feels like walking home. I remember standing there texting people in the group chat to find someone to talk to because I was feeling so awkward and shy around everyone. There were several people that I recognized because I had been talking to them all summer, but I still felt too nervous to approach them in person. In fact, with several people, we confirmed that we saw each other but never spoke in person that day. One girl did try to come up and talk to me, and it was really painful because I was so awkward and didn't know how to talk to her in person. She was a little awkward too but I felt like I was mostly responsible.
I passed through the check-in line, and got to talk to our University and SGA Presidents, who were both very nice and welcoming. I was getting more excited as we crept up in the line. My mom and dad were even making conversation as we finished things up, and I was so happy to just spend time with them and have them be there to experience it with me. Eventually, I had to take my student ID photo, which was a disaster as they usually go, and pick up my room key and then I was done.
The line of cars to my dorm was crazy. We ended up waiting in line for probably twenty minutes before we were able to pull up and have our car unloaded. I ran into my admissions counselor outside, who came up and hugged me because she was excited to see me there. I just felt completely at home, and it was great to see a familiar face at that moment. I went up to my room, which was soon filled with all of my things from both cars. My parents and I worked together and got my room set up fairly quickly.
My roommate did not arrive until the end of check in. We had been talking for months online before requesting each other as roommates but we did have a slight miscommunication just days previously, so I was nervous about meeting her and her parents. When they showed up we had no problems. She was nice, her parents were nice, and we all worked together to finish our room as much as possible.
One group of girls walking past happened to say, "Hey! It's Emily!" and came in to introduce themselves to me. That was one of the best moments of the day, and I loved knowing that I would already have friends here. It really felt like home.
Road to Commencement was a nice ceremony, and I got to talk to my roommate alone for once, and we actually got along so well. It was amazing because I was so worried that it would be hard to talk to her. We didn't really have trouble getting along or coming up with topics, and that was when I realized that living together would be completely fine. It was such a relief and I was immediately able to relax and enjoy my surroundings.
We broke up into our seminars, and I recognized one girl who I had been talking to a little over the summer. I was really shy and she was talking to someone else, so I was too scared to talk to her during the seminar portion. My SSL was nice and gave us a lot of information, along with our O-Team Leader.
Afterward, I saw that she had messaged the group chat and told people she was watching TV in one of the common rooms and invited people to come hang out. I was terrified, but I found myself standing outside of the door because I wanted to make friends. I told myself to grow up and pushed opened the door. I sat down and started talking with her and another girl. It struck me how incredibly easy it was to talk to these people, and how natural it felt. The first girl ended up becoming one of my current best friends at school, and I'm really glad that I went to talk to her.
Dinner and the dessert reception were a quiet time with my parents and my roommate and her family. I was surprised that I didn't really feel as sad and lost as I thought I would. I mean, I was moving out of my house, and I wasn't at all sad. Part of me was just waiting for my parents to leave. The other part was dreading it because I didn't know how I would manage this all on my own. When they did leave, it was hard. I was on the verge of tears as I finally said goodbye and walked into Tinker. I headed into the lounge where everyone was hanging out, and they welcomed me with open arms. I forgot to be sad because everyone was having too much fun. I didn't get the chance to cry before my new friends were already cheering me up.
A week later, I'm thriving. I've had so many crazy things happen that I wouldn't know where to begin to explain them to my family and friends, and it's only been one week so far. I found a group of friends, including my best friend from the seminar, my amazing roommate, and a few girls from my hall that are awesome. As stereotypical as it may sound, I am literally having the time of my life. I could not be happier that I found the best school in the realm of possibility for me, and I am so busy and absorbed in the community here already. I cannot wait for the school year to really get started. Hollins is my new favorite place, and I could not feel more at home anywhere else.
