Move in day was hectic. If there’s any word to describe my first day at Rutgers University it would definitely be hectic. Besides the fact that I packed up nearly every single piece of item I had in my closet, making every bag and bin twenty times heavier than what it could have been, the idea of my mom leaving and me having no one I know surrounding me was the scariest thing I have experience in a very long time. After all the goodbyes were exchanged and tears were shed, the fact that i was really about to enter this new stage that everyone speaks about was an overwhelming thought.

Starting classes was definitely a lot more overwhelming, though. Between getting lost on one of five ridiculously big campuses, trying to figure out the bus system, dealing with the unbearable heat and trying to be social, I found it was very difficult to take a second in order to realize the dramatic change I was going through. I was learning how to live without my parents, do my own laundry, balance school work with a social life… I often felt smaller than the usual. On top of all that, being assigned homework on the same day professors handed out the class’ syllabus was something I really could not wrap my mind around. Overall, the first week was overwhelming.

The first week was also one of the best weeks of my life. Moving away from home has an unexplainable thrill to it as does leaving high school. Of course leaving my old friends is something I did not anticipate, but living in such a diverse community made making new friends a whole lot simpler. At Rutgers, everyone has a chance to find themselves, to reinvent themselves. During my first week, the university shut down one of the most lively streets in the town and hosted an involvement fair where all the different clubs and organizations shared their amazing work, passions and achievements. Being able to witness all the club members sharing their excitement while hopefully recruiting new members made the campus feel a lot smaller as well as homey.

Honestly, a week at Rutgers University has made me realize how badly I am anticipating these next four years. Every time I receive a phone call from someone back at home asking “how’s college?” or “do you like Rutgers so far?” I constantly find myself telling them how amazing the academics are as well as the social life on campus. After a week, I am ready to tell every high school freshman to apply to Rutgers, even though it’ll leave their wallets emptier than ever, so they could fall as in love with the school as I have.