254.8 miles. Five hours. 1345344 feet. 300 minutes. No matter how you put it, I am all on my own a long way from home. This is the first time I have ever been away from my family, taken care of myself, and held myself accountable. No one tells you half of the important things that you need to know or will face when you are living on your own for three quarters of the year.
I am the oldest child in my family, the only grandchild currently in college, and a first-generation student according to Michigan State’s definition. I have little to no experience when it comes to being on my own and I was just thrown into it. Back home, my town is small, and I am known by most people. The culture shock from numbers alone here has been a major adjustment. Walking around campus and seeing thousands of faces a day that I don’t recognize has been hard to get used to. Now it is just second nature to me, and I genuinely enjoy it except for when I’m trying to find a seat after getting Panda Express at the International Center.
The hardest part of being an out of state student is that while I am here, I have no insurance. Absolutely none. Unless it is an emergency room visit, I must pay out of pocket. This is an important aspect of my life that I wish I had known prior to moving in. My Pennsylvania insurance does not cover me in Michigan even though I am here nine months out of the year because I technically still live at home. My biggest piece of advice to people planning on going out of state for school is to please, please, please investigate if your insurance will cover you during your time there. As someone with a substantially weak immune system, I have already gotten sick and have had no access to the prescribed medication I need. Had I known this information beforehand, it would have helped me better prepare and I know it could influence some people’s college decisions.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Michigan State, but the more I communicate with my peers, the more I see the struggles we face as out of staters. Traveling back home for some is insanely difficult. A good friend of mine recently paid $1,000 to head home to Vermont over Thanksgiving break and will spend even more to head home for the winter hiatus. Travel costs are through the roof right now, inhibiting more and more people from easily heading back home. Another friend of mine from Texas was unable to go home over Thanksgiving because of how expensive it was to travel. Even though I drive home instead of flying, gas prices are outrageous as well. Granted it is cheaper than a flight, gas in some areas on my drive home is still more than four dollars a gallon. Nevertheless, I can’t say that I regret my decision one bit, because it’s allowed me to experience new cultures and opportunities for my future career.
Being over 200 miles away from home is a lot harder than people think and there is so much that goes into making that decision. Personally, even though my tuition is almost double that of an in-state student, I wouldn’t change my decision for the world. MSU holds a special place in my heart, and I am beyond grateful that it will serve as my home away from home for the next four years.