Entering my freshman year of college this past fall, I had a lot of high expectations. Society and the media paint this image in our minds that it’s supposed to immediately be the best times of our lives. We motivate ourselves to make it through the last long weeks of high school with the idea that in a couple of months everything is guaranteed to fall right into place. New freedoms, more independence, and a chance to start over – what more could you want? But no one really talks about what happens when your first semester falls short of that.
For the first time in my life, I found myself in a new place making new experiences without the same people by my side. Finding my friend group was more of a challenge than I anticipated and I didn’t have the comfort of my old surroundings either. As much as I thought I was ready for change and for independence, I was naive to the initial challenges that come hand in hand with that.
The most important thing I learned since being here is that this is a major adjustment. We can’t expect to always jump right in and feel perfectly comfortable. It’s okay to have mixed feelings about new things and it’s okay to take your time. Most importantly, I think it’s crucial to remember that each experience is different. My experience is for me, as I go through my journey, to build upon and without anyone else’s standards or expectations to live up to.
We feel this pressure to make the outside world believe that we are in our element and having the time of our lives, so we try to make it come across that way. But truthfully, you never really know how someone is doing unless you talk to them. Over the last few months, I started to think there was something wrong with me. Everyone else made it seem like they were having a great time, and for some reason, I wasn’t. I missed my family, friends, and home way more than I thought I would. But even just through casual conversations with other people, I realized that we are all adjusting. For a lot of people, it didn’t just come easily. As for the future, I’m very optimistic. Getting used to things and finding my way might be tough right now but it doesn’t mean that it will always be this way. It’s already getting easier each day, and I’m almost certain I made the right decision coming here.