I am a freshman at Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts. My first semester was remote due to covid but I kinda liked it. When I received the email stating we had to stay at home I was not aggravated by it at all. I was content with it. Maybe it was because I wasn’t ready to leave home in Long Island, maybe I was scared to meet friends in a new area and feel alone. I don’t know. Being home definitely made the transition to college easier. I got used to the workload and the classes, made some friends online, joined virtual clubs, and got to spend time with my family and friends more. I was ready for the spring semester.
The week before I moved in I was nervous as heck. Questions kept zooming through my head. How will I get to know the city? Will the friends I made consolidate into one friend group? How much work will I have? Can I manage doing anything and everything? Friday January 22, the day before I moved in, I got into the car and that nervousness turned into excitement. I was actually going to Boston knowing I was going to live there. It felt so great! The day I moved in was a hassle, but It felt so natural to be there. I decorated my dorm the way I wanted, like my own apartment, and independence had started.
Everyone moving onto campus had to get tested and quarantine in their room until they received a negative COVID test result. For the safety of the campus, understandable. After 24 hours, the tests still weren’t available and everyone was getting antsy. Finally after 30 hours the tests came back and everyone was getting out for some fresh air. I got out so quick I didn’t have time to process anything. All of my friends in the other dorms hadn’t gotten their tests back so I was walking around the campus for the first time alone. I ran into some girls from my dorm and went to dinner with them. We started eating but something didn’t sit right.
I got back to my dorm, called my mom, and started to bawl. I missed home. No matter how much I wanted to get out of New York and come to Boston , I missed the comfort of waking up to my parents in the next room. Minutes and minutes of endless tears. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to make it through the end of the week without wanting to go home. After some time talking to my mom, I had calmed down.
The next day I woke up anxious. My friends and I went to breakfast and I couldn’t stomach anything. I ended up throwing up and crying…..again. I was homesick. I missed my mom. Throughout the day my emotions fluctuated. That night my mom came to pick me up and take me out to dinner. With her I felt safe, comforted. I told her what I was feeling. Her response was this: “You are putting too much pressure on yourself. You have 5 years here and have to take it day by day. This is your time to choose your own path.”
Following that night, I started getting into a routine. I woke up, made my bed, went outside for some fresh air and ventured out of campus little by little. It helped being with friends. I learned how to get around the green line of the “T,” the streets around the area. All I want to do is be here and enjoy my time. The image I had planned for myself is slowly coming into realization. Wednesday February 3, I went to my aunt’s house for dinner but all I wanted to do was come back to Emmanuel. I was feeling HOMEsick.
Over the past few weeks I have made myself at home here. Everyone here is so kind and friendly here. I have grown into my comfort level. I don’t want to miss out on the opportunities this city, this school has in store for me. College is time to fit into one’s personality and find comfort with oneself.