It can be hard going to school in a totally different state, whether it be from missing family back home or not relating to people because you are not from the area. It is especially hard when you do not have a car, so you have to make friends with people who know the area and can take you places.
After spending more than one year here at USF, I have come to find my place and a community that is welcoming; however, we all have moments where we need to vent our frustrations. Without further ado, here are a few reasons why being an out-of- state student can be hard sometimes.
Being away from home for an extended period of time.
If you are a homebody like me, then you severely miss the comfort of your own bed. When I say goodbye to my mom in August, I know I am not going to see her for a good six months. My mom is my best friend, as pathetic as that sounds, so it can be hard being separated for so long.
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Weekends at home are basically impossible.
First of all, I am a poor college student. It is not worth it to buy a flight home for one full day. It costs more for one flight than it does to do my laundry for a year. The free laundry at home is not worth it. It sucks that I have to be away from my family, but it is a waste of time when you only get to spend one day home.
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If you forget something at home, forget about it.
If you forgot some clothes, shoes, etc. then you might as well forget you ever owned it, because there is not a chance that you are seeing it until holiday break if you live out of state. Of course, your parents could be nice and send it to you, but if your parents are anything like mine, then you know that is not going to happen.
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When your friends go home for the weekend, you have nothing to do.
This point has its ups and downs. If your friends are your roommates, you get the whole apartment to yourself so you can do whatever you want. No one is there to judge you when you eat a whole tub of ice cream. On the other hand, you are stuck on campus with nothing to do.
Having to do a crash course on the geography of Florida
After living in Florida for over a year now, I pretty much have the geography down. When I first started it was a different story. When first meeting someone, it us always polite to ask questions like, “Where are you from?” I pretty much only knew the major cities in Florida, so almost every time someone answered that question, I would nod my head while making a mental note to look up where the heck somewhere like “Merritt Island, Florida” was located.
The struggle of explaining to people where you are from.
Not every out of state student has had this struggle, but if you have moved around a lot then you would understand. Although I was born in Ohio, I lived in Japan for almost half of my life. I do not look Japanese, so I get weird looks when I say I am from Tokyo. People get even more confused when I talk about Texas and Michigan, since my parents live there. I give them the short answer that I am from Cincinnati, Ohio which does not feel true at all.
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People always asking me why I chose Tampa.
It seems like a lot of people cannot grasp why in the world I would want to come to Florida of all of the places to go to school. Can people understand that Tampa is actually a very cool place to live? I am the only one from my high school that has a beach on my campus.
Even though it can be hard to go to school out of state, I do not regret my decision one bit. Going to school far away from family has helped me get out of my comfort zone and explore new possibilities.