Ah, college what an experience it has been so far. If you don’t know me personally, hi, my name is Adelei and I am a Cinema/Television major here at Regent University. I came all the way from the Sunshine State we all know as Florida. So I hope you can get to know me a little more from looking into my first month of college.
One thing I learned very quickly when I moved to Virginia is that just living is expensive. It never really hit me that I was going to need a decent amount of money coming to school. I am grateful my parents told me that I needed to be saving money. Now, I definitely could have saved more, but I’m glad I got that kick in the butt before coming up here because now I’m more careful with my money. In the beginning, it was hard because I had nothing. So those first few shopping trips I had hurt my soul a little bit and the worst part about it was that I couldn’t be mad. If I didn’t buy these things, I would starve. If you haven’t started college yet and you still have a bit of time is save as much as you can. You do not need Chick-Fil-A for the fourth day in a row— make a sandwich.
Another thing learned when coming to school was having a good group of friends makes all the difference. I connected with a few students before coming to Regent, and it was so nice having a small group of friends right away. Transitioning is different for everyone but having a sound support system made a huge difference for me. Our friend group keeps growing and I absolutely love it.
Mental breakdowns are just a part of the college experience. I have had so many breakdowns it’s not even funny. Most of the time I wasn’t even crying. Usually, it was just me on the floor for five minutes hanging out contemplating life. Also, when you are “going through it,” being full doesn’t exist. One Sunday, I ate a relatively large bowl of captain crunch, a meal at Cookout, and nine Krispy Kreme donuts throughout the day. If you’re thinking, “How the heck could you eat all that?” I can’t answer you because I have no idea. I also haven’t gained any weight, so all of the food must’ve gone to my soul. I also dyed my hair pink and got my ears pierced so how fun is that!
Something that I really struggled with was the fear of missing out. Everyone is so excited about finally arriving at school and having a group of new friends that we always want to be around each other. Welcome Week was fine. I needed to settle in (my room is still and will always probably be a mess) and get everything organized but being with my friends was more important. I didn’t sleep a lot during the first two weeks. This came to bite me in the butt because I ended up getting really, really sick. You know Cameron from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? Yeah, that was me. So I quickly realized that I needed to make it a priority to actually sleep. So I always try to get to bed by 12 or at least I say that but end up going to bed at 2am but at least naps are a thing. Speaking of naps, who knew a dorm bed could lead to some of the best naps I’ve ever taken.
Overall, the college experience so far has been a good one. I have good days, I have bad days, you know it is. I will say I don’t think I have ever been happier. I miss Florida and the people in it, but I was also miserable to some extent. Being here has helped me take steps into being my own person and owning it. I look at myself a year ago, and she and I are entirely different people. I’m so thankful for that. I have only been here a month or so, and I cannot wait to see where this year takes me.
Thank you for reading about my first month away from the Sunshine State.
If you want to see the butterflies yourself, the garden’s website says they will be having their butterfly exhibit until October 14th and is open from 10am to 7pm daily. Go check it out!