As a transfer student, I had a little bit of a late start to the “living away from home” game. For the first two years after high school I lived at home and commuted to a community college forty minutes away four days a week while working evenings, and the semester that I took classes online I was working two different jobs in order to save up for university. So now, at twenty years old, I’m nearly three hours away from home and living with two of my very good friends in my first apartment. The semester is only halfway over, but I’ve learned so much since being here. There are a few that I’d like to share in the hopes of making you feel maybe a little less alone and maybe a little more validated.
Keep your expectations real. My roommates and I laugh all the time when we remember how I said I was going to cook for us almost every night and how we said our apartment would never get dirty. Unfortunately, being full-time college students means that we need to dedicate our time to our studies and even our extracurriculars. It’s okay to have goals and ideals for how you’re going to conduct your life and living space, but try to be realistic about it and give yourself some grace.
Change is inevitable when you’re in a new environment. I assumed that my daily and nightly routine was going to be the exact same just in a new place, but that wasn’t entirely true! I’ve had to make adaptations to my routine, and some of the changes just happened naturally without me realizing it. Despite it being different from how I conducted my life at home, I still found a routine that works for me and that I am comfortable and happy with.
Make the extra effort for yourself. Taking care of yourself when making a big move can be difficult. Many nights have I neglected my selfcare routine, and many nights have I resorted to ordering out when I had the time to cook. Of course, you’re going to have nights where these are the best you can do, and that’s completely okay. However, when you have the time and ability, it’s important to show up for the sake of yourself. Putting in the effort may not be fun or easy, but it’s so gratifying once it’s done and your body and mind will thank you.
This one is probably the most important, no matter how comfortable you are with this new chapter in your life; it’s okay to get homesick. I have never been good at being away from home, whether that be on vacation with my own family members or spending the night at my best friend’s house. Moving away was huge for me and something that I spent a lot of time mentally preparing for. Though I have done pretty well, I have definitely had my rough days. It’s perfectly okay to spend time on the phone with your family or loved ones back home, and it’s okay to go home every couple weeks! Like my dad told me; it’s not a marathon, it’s just a few sprints at a time.
