Going to college is a completely different experience than a person is used to from high school. You are surrounded by a whole new community of strangers. And someway, somehow, you are supposed to make new friends. Sometimes you want to curl up in a ball and stay in your room because you are afraid you’ll be alone, but that’s not the case. You begin to learn who you really are and where you come from. You make your own rules and don’t report to anyone. For eighteen years we have grown up in a home where you tell your parents where you’re going, or who you’re with, or what’s put on the dinner table is what you eat… but now, we make our own choices!
College can seem scary, but it’s the start of something new (lol... there’s my one "High School Musical" reference). We’re beginning a new chapter of our lives. College is where we leave the nest for the first time and learn how to take on the world without our parents holding our hands… even though for some, they are paying our tuitions. But in the first eight months of this journey, you can learn a lot.
You become independent... or so you think.
I have always been independent my entire life. But leaving your home and loved ones to be on your own in a new place, can be a little scary. You take on so much more responsibility, and you are the judge between what you should and shouldn't do. You do everything for yourself. I'll be honest, my mom is the kind of mother that washes laundry every single day and then folds it for you and puts it on your bed. I am not saying I had never ever done laundry before going to college. I had to learn when I should do laundry and had to find time to fit it into my schedule. Sometimes it worked out great, while other times I was left with an overflowing hamper and no clothes to wear. (God bless moms and their time management skills.) You decide when you should go to the wellness center... or call your mom and ask what she thinks. We can't even begin to think that we are fully independent, because we all call our moms and dads for help. It's no secret and nothing to be ashamed of.
I missed my brother.
Even though when you're home your siblings annoy the daylight out of you, you still miss them. I only have one sibling and although he gets on my nerves sometimes, I really miss him while I'm at school. He's the one person that can make me laugh hysterically, even if I am having the worst day possible. Sometimes a random FaceTime call was necessary... but it just wasn't the same. I was missing that big bear hug.
Never wear your lanyard around your neck.
Wearing your lanyard around your neck screams to the whole campus, "I am a freshman." No one does that. It's not cool. Please don't get caught doing it. You might as well get "I am a freshman" tattooed across your forehead. End of discussion.
I missed my bed and my room.
No matter what mattress toppers you buy, no dorm bed will ever compare to your bed at home. I truly missed my queen-sized bed. The times that I could come home and just lay on it felt like heaven. But moreover, I missed my room. Sure, having roommates is fun, but I missed my bed. For eighteen years, I was fortunate that I had never shared a room with anyone in my life. I went from having my own room at home, to being assigned a quad (YES, FOUR GIRLS IN ONE ROOM). It took some adjusting, but I got used to it. However, I am glad to have my own room for the summer.
You have a sleepover every night.
Having roommates is like having a sleepover every night. Luckily in my case, my roommates and I all became really great friends, so for us it was like having an eight-month long sleepover. It's nice to be able to get back to your room after a long day and have people to vent to. From birthday celebrations, to face masks, to late night trips to the vending machine, to sharing our clothes, to food shopping trips, to laughing over nothing, to sending stupid videos for hours at a time late at night, to building a bunk bed at midnight... We made endless memories. No matter what, we were always doing something spontaneous and random. It can be fun living in a room with more than one roommate.
I missed my friends.
Yes, I had roommates, but I missed my friends more than ever. Sometimes Skype group video sessions or FaceTime calls just don’t cut it. I missed being able to drive 5-10 minutes down the road to hang out. I missed our routine vent sessions. I missed having a shoulder to cry on or getting a big hug from one of my girls after something happened. I missed our spontaneous plans. I missed my gym buddies. I feel like even though we have a group chat and catch each other up on our lives through text, we still have missed out on so much. We are so disconnected and we have so much catching up to do in these next few months. I missed ordering takeout, and raiding the junk food aisles of Wal-Mart to stock up for our "OITNB" marathons. (I haven’t even watched an episode without them… we all stopped where we left off together!) I am just lucky enough to still call these girls my best friends, actually my sisters, and thankful that our group didn’t split when we all chose different colleges to attend (from Maine to New Hampshire to Georgia).
Sodexo sucks. End of story.
When you are raised in a home where your mom makes dinner from scratch every night and you sit at the table as a family, you begin to miss it. Something that was an essential part of my life, changed so fast. I went from smelling meals cooking throughout the house and then sitting around the table with my family every night, to deciding when we were going to walk to the dining hall and wait in line to grab something crappy to eat. All the salt in the food and the unhealthy options made me appreciate and miss my mom’s cooking so much more. Because when Sodexo says they’re cooking “Moroccan chicken” or “baked ziti” … it’s not my mama’s Moroccan chicken or fresh baked ziti with that Italian sauce made from scratch.
Being involved is extremely beneficial.
I have always been the type of person to be involved in school. That didn’t change for me when I came to college. The first week of school I applied for a work study job and I got the position. This job has made me meet so many wonderful people, some who I now consider my best friends. Second semester I became an executive board member of an organization at school. Becoming involved has allowed me to meet a variety of people from such diverse backgrounds. It’s nice to have some time for yourself once in awhile, but being involved is so much more fun than sitting in a dorm room. Becoming involved from the start is the way to go!
The library becomes home.
I never pictured myself as one of those people that tucks away and hides in the library for hours at a time. But, I was wrong. I became one of “them”. I realized that I focused so much better in the library than I ever did in my dorm room. I was much more productive… especially on the silent floors. Sometimes it’s nice to get away and have that serenity without roommates and friends walking in and out of your room, disturbing you.
You don’t need to party every weekend to make friends or have fun.
Because I was so involved I met so many people on my own. I wasn’t that “typical college girl” that went out and partied every weekend. Yes, I went out a few times, but it wasn’t really my scene. Ordering take out and watching Netflix in my cozy bed seemed so much better than hanging out with a bunch of drunk sweaty bodies in an extremely uncomfortable and tight space. SO, if you think that partying is the only way to make friends, but you don’t like to party, you can definitely meet people and make friends in other ways!
Unpacking sucks.
Make sure you try to not take your entire life with you to college, because moving out, bringing it all back home, and unpacking is absolutely awful. I made that mistake… don’t be me.
I’m glad to be home.
Although I may get annoyed sometimes and things may be different now that I’m back home, I’m so happy to be here. It is a little weird readjusting from “being your own person” to now back to reporting to your parents, but I’m glad to be back. My brother's humor, my mom's hugs, homemade food, my bed... I missed it all. There’s no place like home.
