Author: watermelon

Life becomes crazy the minute you step on campus. First, you’re driving with the trunk filled with all your belongings, then your parents are helping you make your new living space a “home,” and finally they leave you alone in a room with a stranger and the world begins to feel as though it is closing in on you. The first week of college is going to feel like a fever dream. You are thrown into many freshman activities and making new friends, so the homesickness doesn’t kick in, but only if you keep yourself busy. However, it is a reality check, when you’re walking the halls to get to your classroom, and all the people you used to pass by and say hello aren’t there anymore. However, the more people you pass each day, the more opportunities to make new friends. When you have classes and don’t know anyone, the simple asking to sit by someone can give you a new connection for the rest of the semester. Although the fear of never making friends, failing classes, and becoming a loner begins to consume all your thoughts, I promise none of that happens if you simply say hello.

If I am being honest, for me it took an adjustment period of about a month. The dorm doesn’t feel as small as it used to, the new friends you make are the people who could possibly be a part of your wedding one day, the food begins to sound more appealing, and class begins to be a new routine. Keeping myself busy is the only way that I don’t think about home or my high school friends and all that I am missing out on. Your dorm room, your friends’ dorms, and hanging out with friends all become the new normal. Furthermore, the walk to each class, the Kress, and to the Union, all become enjoyable because the trees, the people, and the relaxation of it all makes you look forward to the walk. Just living in the moment, staying positive, and putting yourself out there, will make college 100% more fun. When I think back on it, college seemed so scary at first, but when you sit back and live in the moment, it becomes your home and where you always want to be.

Being used to having my own room, an abundance of food in the kitchen, only my sister in the next room, and plenty of bathroom space, college was a huge adjustment for me. Over the past month, I have noticed a few negative things about living in a dorm with many other college freshmen. The loud banging sounds above me, random screams in the halls or outside, slamming doors, some not so good smells lingering down the halls have occurred frequently, and people forgetting to take their laundry out of the washing machine. Another challenge that occurs every day is not being super close with my roommate, having to clean up after her, wake her up in the mornings, and not feeling very comfortable in the room. However, I have come to realize that dorm life is not as terrible as it seems even with the lack of space and being without my family.

Dorm life has always been scary to me, but now that it is reality it isn’t so bad after all. Instead of having to drive to my friends’ houses, I can walk downstairs and hang out in their room every night. I also love the alone time I have because the best part of my day is when I can clean, do laundry, watch Netflix, and study when everyone is in class. I would also say being able to hang out with my friends, and being around my softball team has been a huge help for my homesickness as well. What I love most is at nighttime there are always people hanging out in the kitchen making treats, watching tv, playing pool and ping pong, and overall making my new home a nice place to be. This has been one of the most interesting but awesome months of my life, which has made this adjustment so much easier.