As a little egg who spent 18 years growing up in the big city of New York, it’s an expectedly huge culture shock coming to a college as small as St. Bonaventure. I’ve had days where, within 30 minutes, I’ve passed by more people than undergraduates at this university. Things are definitely different here from home, so if you’re a little egg from the big city like me, here are some problems you might be facing and some ways to cope with them:
1. No Concerts or Celebrities
This semester alone, I’ve missed out on concerts from my favorite artists and opportunities to meet some of my favorite celebrities when they were minutes away from my house… just because I’m six hours away at college. It’s pretty tough to see opportunity knocking on your door and you not being there to open it. While there aren’t any great concerts or famous people coming to Bona’s campus, you can still stay connected in your own way – using social media, especially Twitter, to stay connected with music and fame helps to bridge the gap. It’s not the same thing as shaking Sara Bareilles’ hand, but tweeting at her and getting a favorite is still something. You don’t need to be right in front of these cool events to feel like you’re there with YouTube, Snapchat and Tumblr – stay connected through social media and it’s like you never left home.
2. Not Many Places to Go
Things within 30 minutes of my house back home: Central Park, Times Square, thousands of nightclubs and hookah lounges, no shortage of ways to entertain yourself. Things within 30 minutes of Bona’s: party houses in Allegany, Wal-Mart, Applebee’s, shortage of ways to entertain yourself. Your options around here are much more limited than your options in the big city, but if you want to have a fun time, where you go doesn’t matter. Grab your friends, go out and do something – even if it’s just fooling around in Wal-Mart, you’re going to end up having fun regardless just because you and your friends can act like fools together. You can’t act like fools in Central Park when you’re at college, but you can act like fools with people whose company you enjoy, and that’s probably an okay trade.
3. Hard to Get Around
When I’m home, it’s just $2.75 to go anywhere you want – take the Q39 to the N to the R to the 2 to 8th Ave. and West 18th St., and you’re eating some fine gelato at Amorino. Here, unless you have a friend with a car, you’re dependent on the Bona Bus to get you places – that’s not ideal. In my experience, the way to cope with getting place to place is to be creative about it. I’ve had someone drop me off at Wal-Mart and then borrow a cart to take my groceries back to my dorm. I’ve walked miles to get to Wendy’s just because I wanted a Frosty. I’ve driven to and back from Ellicottville on a whim. My recommendation is to go with the flow – when someone’s going somewhere, jump on that bandwagon fast. And if you can’t get out? That’s fine too. There’s still plenty of fun to be had on campus as long as you’ve got a couple friends to hang ten with.
4. Difficult to Shop and to Eat
If you are a fan of fine dining and high caliber shopping, then St. Bonaventure is not the place for you. Where I’m from, there are McDonald’s, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts every two blocks; there are delis on every street corner; and there are shopping malls aplenty. Your options aren’t limited. Around here, though? Not so much. You’ve got one of each for the basic fast food and you’ve got some chain restaurants, but there’s no Max Brenner (which is this really amazing dessert restaurant near Union Square). There’s also an upsetting lack of dollar pizza places. How to cope with this? Besides getting used to Hickey food and not being able to get some exceptional food just by walking outside your door, start getting used to online shopping. It’s not something I really did when I lived at home – because there was no reason to pay for shipping and handling when the stores are right across the street – but when you can’t get to the product, your next best bet is to get the product shipped to you. As for the food? Beef ‘n Barrel is pretty swanky, but get used to the Hickey. Not much I can do for you here. Sorry.
5. Missing Your Friends
This is probably the hardest part about going to college – your friends are far away. You don’t see your friends 24/7 when you’re home, but they’re never more than a couple minutes away. It’s a bit of a different story when you’re at college. How to cope with this? Social media is a great tool here, too. Video calls, texting and Snapchatting embarrassing pics to your friends are great ways to stop feeling homesick after leaving the big city. All you little eggs out there – coping with being away from your friends is a lot easier when you branch out and meet some new people. Bona’s is a great place for a lot of things, including making connections. You never really stop missing your friends and missing your home, but it gets easier when you’ve got some new friends to make some new memories with. These are going to be some of the best years of your life, and you might now be a little egg growing up in a little city, but tacos in cars that belong to your friends are waiting around the corner.