Being an out of state student is an exciting, liberating but terrifying time in my life. I don't think it's sunk in yet that I'm thousands miles away from home and have no family anywhere nearby. Yet here I am, coming home two to three times a year and leaving my footprint in Bemidji. Here are some things I believe almost all out of state students can relate to.
1. The accents
It doesn't really matter where you go, every region has an accent. Luckily for me, Minnesota has the cutest accents I've ever heard! It's like little Canadians everywhere you go!
2. Family weekend sucks
My family can't just come up for football games or even family weekend, so seeing everyone hanging out with their parents can be a bit tough. I'm not gonna lie, some tears were shed that night.
3. Facetime becomes a necessity
I never used Facetime much until I came to college but it's now a necessity because it's the only way to communicate with my dog.
4. Homesickness
Homesickness is awful. It's awful because not only are you obviously homesick but you're also not very sympathetic when your in state friends miss home too. It's hard to accept that in state students can get homesick too and whether you agree with it or not, you're going to have to learn to respect it.
5. You are dependent on care packages
Care packages are the best part of college. Nothing brightens my day more than when my grandparents or parents or aunts and uncles send me a care package. Whether it's gift cards for a dinner out, some new clothes or cookies- it's always a great day!
6. Your high school friends become distant
Don't get me wrong, you will always have your best friend by your side but friends in high school that you didn't think you could live without...learn to live without you.
7. Holidays are stressful
I'll never understand why or how my school only gave us two days for Easter Break but they did and I had to decide between missing class or going home to see my family. It was extremely stressful, lots of crying occurred during this decision process (shout out to my lovely boyfriend who comforted me through the entire ordeal LOL).
8. Home-cooked meals become a thing you never thought you'd miss
When I lived at home I would jump at the opportunity to go out to eat with my friends. It was fun and I loved having the freedom to eat whatever I wanted. I miss it so much now. I miss having my mom cook me dinner every night, it was so much healthier and saved me a lot of money.
9. You miss your pets... A lot
I never thought about how much I would miss my dog. He made a big difference in my life, cheering me up on bad days and always wagging his tail when I came home from school. I miss him so much.
10. But mostly...we just miss our families.
I have never been more of a jealous person than I am right now. Seeing my friends go home for the day or the weekend makes me want to cry. Seeing my family going on vacation without me or even going to Target without me is enough to ruin my entire day.
At the end of the day, this life was my choice. I decided to move away from home and create a life for myself. I'll never regret it, I believe moving far away from home helped me grow into a more independent person but there are still a lot of struggles I never anticipated.
