College is really, really hard at some points. Freshman year, I hated everything about college. I wanted to go home every weekend, I hated leaving my dorm, and I was a part of nothing that involved me ever having to go anywhere but my room and class for the first semester. I went out, but still didn’t feel like I was having as good of a time as all my friends from home seemed to be having at their colleges. I spent winter break filling out transfer applications to other colleges but my dad told me I should try and stick it out for the year.
My roommate transferred out and one of my best friends moved in, and I made it my goal to try and be as involved as possible. I wanted to leave with no second thoughts and was also extremely nervous to be the transfer student at a new school, so I was hesitant.
As I got more involved, I realized I loved running events—it gave me a sense of control and eased my anxiety, knowing I played a key role in making them happen. I started to open up to new people, showing them a side of myself that I hadn’t yet shown at college. I joined such amazing organizations like HerCampus and Sigma Delta Tau, among so many others.Â
When I looked back, I realized that I just needed to get out of my comfort zone and start to love what I did. Everything else began to fall in place. I started to go out to the same places, but now I saw familiar faces everywhere. I felt happier about myself and therefore everything else became happier too. I just needed to get away from myself and my mind, escaping through pushing myself forward even though it was scary.
Also, I realized that I was putting the school through unrealistic expectations. I couldn’t compare my experience to my friends’ experiences – they were all at big state schools, had entirely different school cultures, and were much different people than I was. I was trying to force my experience to mirror theirs and the lives I saw on the internet, when that was impossible.Â
I am so undoubtedly happy that I never transferred out my freshman year and that I stuck it out. I have met so many incredible people and experienced so much here that I just know I wouldn’t have been able to find elsewhere.Â
To reiterate, my biggest tips would be to: 1. Get out of your comfort zone, 2. Take a hard look at the expectations you’re putting towards college, 3. Realize that not everything is going to be perfect all the time. It is okay to struggle and to resist. That is what moves us and changes us as people. Every part of me that I love the most has been derived and morphed out of my biggest regrets and fears. It is what you make of it.