Moving away for college is a rather hard task. Heck, starting college at all is scary. Whether you move 10 minutes from home or 2 hours from home, the city you attend college in will change you. The city that changed me is Lafayette and it has taught me so much about myself, but these are just a few of the things I’ve learned in the past year.

Lafayette...

Taught me how to deal with freedom.

With college comes a lot of freedom. Your parents may still be paying your way and helping you with those big decisions, but you’ve learned a little bit about freedom. You can wash your clothes whenever you want. You can stay in your pajamas all Saturday and nobody will tell you anything. However, with freedom comes responsibility. All my life I’ve relied on my parents to do everything for me. Making everyday decisions like what I’m going to cook for a certain meal or when I should set my alarm to make it to class on time has really opened my eyes to just how much freedom (and responsibility) I have.

Taught me how to be my own person.

In college there are so many routes you can take. You can be the person that never goes out of their dorm room except for class, you can be the person that doesn’t even know what their professor looks like, or you can be the person that goes to class, gets involved, finds multiple different friend groups, and falls in love with life. I became that third person. My first semester, I took on 17 hours worth of schoolwork. I thought that there was no way I would do anything else, but then I decided to go through Panhellenic recruitment. I found my home and was overwhelmed with love from my new sisters. I then decided that I really wanted to continue with my faith, so I joined a bible study at the on campus Catholic Church. I felt confident in myself, so halfway through the semester, I decided to apply for the Student Orientation Staff. When I found out I was chosen, I was once again overwhelmed by the love of so many different people from around campus. Having all these different friend groups really taught me a lot about the outside world. The most amazing thing about the people in these groups is not that they were just like me, but that they were completely different than me. Being surrounded by people that accept you for who you really are and understanding your struggles is the most amazing feeling in the world. In high school we all tried so hard to be the person people wanted to be around, but what college life has taught me is that there is a place or an organization for everyone. We just have to find those people that are going to be there for us no matter what.

Taught me how to love differently.

I always thought the end goal in life was to find a man that loved me and would take care of me. It wasn’t until I was in a new city that I realized that I’m a really awesome person and I should stop being so hard on myself and love myself for who I am. Once I started accepting and loving myself, I really understood what it was like to love someone else. I’m not talking about that mushy gushy love for your boyfriend, but loving how awesome each individual person is. You will quickly learn that a college campus is very diverse. I don’t just mean race or ethnicity; you have people who love playing video games to people who would sleep in tents if they could. Loving what each and every person has to bring to the table is very refreshing. I never would have known about all the different cultures around the world if it weren’t for some of the students on campus. The sparkle in people’s eyes when they talk about what they are passionate about is the reason I still have hope for this world. All it takes is listening to someone about what they love and you insantly have a special friendship.

Taught me how to be obsessed with something.

I’ve always had my few obsessions; pugs, New York City, and Jason Witten, but once I went to college, I became obsessed with something else; my university. The majority of my clothing has something to do my university. I learned that every tree, every building, every street has a story just waiting to be learned. Not only is your university drowning in history, but the city you are in is too. Adventuring around the city that has changed my life is amazing. I used to hate attending sporting events because there were so many people there, but when you love your university as much I as love mine, you won’t want to miss a single game.

Everyone has to find the place that makes him or her feel at home and mine is Lafayette. You want to feel loved and part of a group? Come on over to Lafayette and let me introduce you to one of the most welcoming places in the state.