After my first year of university, I realized how much truth there is in the saying "out of sight, out of mind."
I am very close with my family and not a great fan of changes and new things in general, so naturally, I was terrified of what moving away would be like. It ended up being much easier than I expected, and I was soon too immersed in college life to miss home as much as I thought I would. However, coming back to my hometown these past months have made leaving at the end of August hard all over again.
And so I began doing what I always do when I have a problem that I can't solve: I made lists and more lists. From mapping out what I had to do to move into my new dorm and making plans for add-drop-swap to more emotional-heavy topics such as the things I missed about Emory.
Ironically, it was not wanting to go back to college when the summer holidays end that made me realize what I think the best part of being in university is. I have always known that I was very sheltered by my parents, which I am very grateful for, as this way they were able to raise me with what I consider to be solid values that shape my every action even when I am a whole continent away. But it was moving away from this shelter was freeing, and made me mature considerably. From being able to go wherever I wanted to go, without having to tell anyone where I was going or when I was coming back to being able to choose what I was going to eat and when I was going to eat it. Having so much control over my own life is by far what I am enjoying most about university. This goes for the academic side of things as well, from choosing my major to building my schedule class by class.
And this freedom doesn't come only from breaking away from my parents' sheltering habits. I studied at a small international school from when I was six years old until I graduated, which meant that everyone knew everything about me, even if they didn't know me personally. Although Emory isn't a very large school, it is much larger than what I was used to, and this has been liberating. Some practical examples include how I was able to take a science class without the teacher asking me what I was doing there because I have always liked humanities and languages better, and how refreshing it felt to talk to people who didn't already know all about my family.
I think the many opportunities available on a college campus also contribute to this freedom of living life the way that I want to live it. If I decide that I want to be a psychologist, there are many psychology classes available. If I decide I want to do yoga, there are yoga classes a walking distance away. If I decide I want to eat chicken every day, there is at least one place that always serves it on campus and is included in my meal plan.
Another ironic thing is that what I like most about college is also something that is constantly stressing me. So many decisions to be made by me: what I am going to major in, what I want to eat and when, if I make my bed in the morning, if I am sick enough to miss class.
I guess another saying I realized rings true is "every coin has two sides."