Right now, it feels as if time possesses this strange dichotomy of, “I just became a college student yesterday” and “I have been here for so long.” It is as if because I have matured and changed, living my daily life miles away from my family in Michigan, that this is my new normal, but in fact it has been for a long time. At the same time, though, I can’t stop thinking “how did I get here?” As I finish my first semester of college, I am using this time not only to study for finals but to reflect on my life and my college experience thus far as a whole.
I have met so many new people since I have been here, especially since I knew almost no one when I came here. But now I can say hi to people around campus and it feels very familiar. In the beginning, I was jealous of my friends who went to college with people that they knew from high school. Now, I can honestly say going somewhere far away was worth it. I now have multiple groups of people that I feel I can talk to and enjoy being around. I think that going somewhere not only where I knew almost no one, but in a completely different part of the country, has helped me grow as a person, and is preparing me for life after college.
Sometimes I feel confined to campus or as if there is not much to do, but every week I seem to find a way to experience something a little different or new. For example, just last night I went to an acapella performance with friends for the first time. It’s hard always figuring out what to do, but I find that the spontaneous plans really make an impact. This is also very unlike me since I am such a planner, but I have learned to be more spontaneous since being at college. For instance, I ran into friends the other night and they asked if I wanted to go to movie with them; I said yes and we were in an Uber two minutes later. That movie night was a great night!
With this strange and amazing semester coming to a close, I am obviously looking forward to a break, but also to next semester. There are times where I wish I could go home, and times where I just wish my life was different. But most of the time I am content, even thrilled with my college life. Sure, living in a triple can be annoying sometimes or you can just get stressed out and mad at the world. The holidays for me, like this past week with Hanukkah, were perhaps somewhat hard because I felt as if I was missing out on celebrating with my family. Yet, I celebrated with my friends and in so many ways that was just as good as being home. Still, when your family sends pictures of your dog wearing a yarmulke it’s hard not to miss cuddling with him. As my mom reminded me, it’s like President Glotzbach said during accepted student day or maybe orientation- your kids won’t miss home they will just miss their dogs. Remember, whatever you feel, that the first semester of college is normal and we all go through it.
That’s all for now, I guess you will have to wait until next semester for more of my articles!