There is just over a week left of my first semester ever of college and I will admit I am counting down the days. I am pretty proud of myself for making it to this point because it’s been a rough semester for me, which I’m sure all college freshmen would say. I won’t lie, the beginning of the school year was not good at all. I’m pretty sure I cried every single day for the first month and half. I was, and still am, very homesick. I missed my bed, I missed my car, I missed my family, and I even missed my job that I had back home.
The very first week, before classes had even started, was the hardest. I have never been a social butterfly and I spent most of that week alone in my room, which was miserable. Before I had even left my house on the morning of move-in day, I had a bad feeling. College had always been something that scared me. I’m a homebody and I get really anxious when I am in unfamiliar places. I spent all summer dreading September, dreading the day when I would have to leave my home.
I would like to say that everything is drastically better, now that I’ve been here for 3 months, but that would be a lie. But it would also be a lie to say that I feel the same way that I did during the first week. I wouldn’t say that I enjoy every aspect of college, but I have adapted to it. I still haven’t made that many friends here and there are days when I worry that I won’t have anyone to eat dinner with, because it’s the little things like that that have the power to upset me. But it hasn’t been all bad. If there is one thing that has given me the motivation to push through college, it’s my classes. College is all about furthering your education and making it possible to get a good career in the future. With all of the other aspects of college life getting me down, the desire to succeed in my academics is what got me through. That isn’t to say that my schoolwork hasn’t caused me any stress, because it has, but it has also gave me an incentive to stay.
While I didn’t fully enjoy first semester, there were things that made it better. Since I got here, I have talked to my mom on the phone every day. Sometimes our conversations were 5 minutes long, sometimes they were 20, but it was nice to feel connected to home in that small way, even if it was just something simple like her asking how my day was. Another thing that has helped me get through the semester is joining Her Campus. Along with introducing me to a group of really cool people and getting me involved more on campus, it has given me an opportunity to do what I love to do: write.
There was a point first semester when I really couldn’t see myself coming back to college for the second semester. Two months ago I would’ve told you I definitely wouldn’t be back. But after a lot of deliberation, (asking each of my family members their opinions and making a pros and cons list) I decided to at least stay at college for a full year. I didn’t want to be that girl who didn’t go back to college. I’ve heard from many upperclassmen, at Framingham State and at other colleges, that the first semester for freshman is always the worst and things usually get a lot better in the second semester. I hope that’s true for me and I am happy that I have decided to stick around to see if it is.