Dance parties with your roomie, karaoke showdowns with your hall, and those late-night movie dates with the guy you’re ~totally~ into, make college the best time of your life. Maintaining a social life as well as studying and keeping up with a college course load is hard enough as it is, remembering to keep up with your life back home often gets put on the back burner. Especially as a freshman, it’s extremely easy to get caught up in the social cycle of college and forget to call home and check in with pets–and siblings.
In the midst of joining clubs, making friends, and pulling all-nighters, I fell victim of the cycle. Honestly, it was quite justified–at first. But after numerous notifications from both CNN and Twitter, I quickly snapped out of the cycle and realized my hometown was in severe danger: a category five hurricane was going to directly hit all of Florida. Now, as a native Floridian, I knew not to fret, these storms were usually a hit or miss–typically the latter. So I did what everyone from back home would do, ignore it until it hit. Instead of dreading over details, I focused on crossing things off my to-do list, like finishing my homework days in advance, ‘cleaning’ my room, and getting tickets for Malala’s visit to campus.
The weekend came and went. News outlets kept spreading alerts, that’s when I realized, this was happening. I remained glued to my phone, constantly refreshing the Florida weather station. I frantically texted my parents and friends back home, constantly asking for updates. I then knew that this hurricane was no laughing matter. My hometown was in the eye of the storm. Gone were the distractions and the parties, all I wanted to do was make sure my family was safe, 800 miles away. Needless to say, I was pretty stressed. News outlets and friends from home kept uploading photos of fallen trees, broken windows, and flooded homes. I couldn’t contact anyone, since the power went out and phone service was down. It hurt, knowing that everything and everyone I loved from home was going through such a terrible time, and here I was, incapable of doing anything to help.
Luckily, AU set up counseling centers for students who were going through the same situation. An email was sent to students from the affected areas, directing us towards the Counseling Center, which helps students manage any emotional, mental, and physical hardships they may face. Here, they can redirect you towards appropriate resources on campus and in the neighborhood. For those affected, the counseling center set up group sessions to connect with students who were going through similar emotions and find a way to deal with them.
My friends also understood how I felt and offered their unconditional support. My floormates would stop me in the hall and ask how my family was. There was this sense of unity that radiated off the dorm walls–it sounds totally corny, trust me I know, but it was welcoming. For the first time since I stepped foot on campus, I felt at home. I felt comforted and loved. I felt like, finally, I had a support system that stretched beyond the Sawgrass Expressway.
It’s going to take a long time for life to get back to ‘normal’ in Florida, but now I know what life here–at my new home– feels like.
All photos taken by Alyssa Quinlan