1. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.
Flying away to college means leaving an entire life's worth of relationships behind you. The seasonal relationships all seemed to be lost or forgotten when you stepped on the plane. Maybe you'd get a text here and there to check in on one another, but for the most part the people who weren't your real friends slowly started to disappear from your life. On the other hand, you are also leaving behind people that really matter to you. The distance doesn't make it more difficult to keep caring about them, though. In fact, it only makes you care about these lucky individuals more. You constantly want updates on their lives and you develop amazing keep-in-touch skills. When you return home, it's more exciting to be with the people you care most for, making those relationships much more meaningful.
2. You are forced to learn how to be independent.
While Mom and Dad always joke about never leaving your side when it came to flying away to school, the truth is that they eventually go home and continue on with their jobs and every day lives. That means you are on your own and have to deal with all the tedious things you never thought twice about. When you feel sick, you have to schedule your own doctor's appointment, and when you don't have time to take a lunch break, you have to pack your own lunch! By the end of freshman year you are a total pro at managing all the little aspects and chores of your life.
3. You, subconsciously, become maternal or paternal.
This happened to me without my realizing it. I slowly started to tell my friends to text me when they got back to their dorms, or call me on their late night walks back from the library so I could make sure they didn't get mugged. You start to worry about your own well being and the well being of all your friends because your mothers and fathers used to do the same thing for you.
4. You learn who your real friends are.
The first week of school hits you hard and fast. Hundreds of names and faces are thrown at you from every direction, and it becomes hard to keep up with all the new people you want to be friends with. You start to travel in a group of thirty people, and you are convinced this pack is now your college entourage. When second semester comes around, you realize that quality of friendships is much more important than quantity. You form tighter relationships with a lucky few, and drift from many of the others.
5. Rushing a sorority or fraternity gave you a sense of brotherhood or sisterhood.
Being part of a sorority or fraternity made you realize that you can be part of something bigger than you: a clan of people who value you through all your ups and downs. You learn the importance of family and sisterhood and brotherhood because you are now part of a giant one.
6. You learned to reach out of your comfort zone.
Since your school has such a vast group of people, there are so many different things that you can involve yourself in. People join political organizations and start to play a new instrument simply because they can, and because your abundance of free time allows for it.
7. You didn't always get what you wanted.
This is super important. No one cares what you want anymore, or when you want it. You only get what you earn, and you are no longer entitled to anything more than that. You learn how to fight for yourself and how to be prepared when you don't get your way.
8. You meet people who aren't from your home town.
For me, it was a huge culture shock to meet people who weren't from the Tri-State area. At home, you live in a little bubble where everyone acts and looks a certain way because of certain unavoidable norms. When you meet people from different parts of the world, you realize that people aren't only like the group of people you grew up with. You don't need to act and look like you come from your hometown, anymore.
9. You learned your limits.
College is about testing how much you can handle while learning from all your mistakes -- and there will be many, many mistakes. After a while, you start to get the hang of it and you are able to tell just what you can and cannot handle.
10. You no longer take anything for granted.
We never realize what we have until it's gone. I never realized how much I took for granted at home until I got to school. At the end of the day, you should feel so lucky to be going to the school you go to, but don't forget all that you were lucky for at home, too!
