It really felt like yesterday that I stepped foot onto my new home for the next four years, UH Manoa. If you haven't read my past articles, I'm originally from Georgia (not the country Georgia). I do remember during the first couple of weeks, or whenever I meet new people, they always ask me, "You're from Georgia?!? That's so far away, Why did you choose this school?" To answer this question, I do have family that lives in Hawaii. Being from Georgia, I only get to seem them around every 2 or 3 years. I couldn't really see them every year because of how expensive it is to even fly out to Hawaii. We really don't realize this, but a lot can happen in 2 to 3 years. Because of this, this was one of the deciding factors of going to UH Manoa.

Now the main question. Do I ever get homesick? The answer is, DEFINITELY!!! I don't get it often, but it does happen to me ever once in a while. I remember one time I was walking around and noticed UH Manoa banners hanging all around campus and one caught my eye. The banner had two people that were wearing UGA (University of Georgia) gear and it looked like they were at a Georgia game. That really gave me homesickness, remembering going to the football games and cheering for the Dawgs. Because of that, anytime I pass that banner, I always say Go Dawgs! It really reminds me not to forget where I came from.

Classes. Where do I even begin. With my schedule and work load, it's pretty hard, but manageable. Midterms really hit hard though. I never thought I would be studying like crazy. I now ask myself, "Is this considered normal?? Studying for 3 or 4 hours making sure the concept is solidified in my brain??" I can easily say this, this is the new normal. Welcome to college darling.

No matter what, I'm so glad that chose UH Manoa to be my home campus.