Clutching my mom when we said goodbye, all I could think was "What the hell am I doing?". I am leaving the people I love the most and at the time, I failed to see the light. I just kept thinking about how insistent I was about how I wanted to come to this distant University, and how I'd kept telling everyone back home that I was so excited to get out and explore "a new world". But yet, as most newly-minted college freshmen, I began to regret these overly confident remarks as I pulled my mom in for one last hug.
When I headed down the street and looked back at her with tears in my eyes, I just kept going on and on in my head trying to reconcile with what brought me here and why I chose this place to be my new home. Here I was, staying in a place that I barely even knew, and I was supposed to have "the time of my life" or "the best years of [your] life" at the college or university of my choice. But all I felt was doubt, and all the confidence I had built up before seemed to evaporate in the seconds after I walked away.
I'm here to tell you that although I knew that many people have gone off to college and had done well (siblings included), I still felt incredible anxiety that I feared I would be unable to shake. But I'm here to say that a month since that final hug, I have never felt better. The truth of the matter is, for most college students, things do get better. So here's just a few of my observations just from my first few weeks of college & my advice about adjusting to a new college experience.These are just the things I've learned, and are so obviously subjective.
1. Everyone is trying to make new friends, even if they are from in-state.
It's pretty much a guarantee that no one has an incredibly solid friend group when they arrive at college, and everyone is eager to get to know and meet new people.
2. Try new things. You might be surprised at what you end up enjoying.
Before college, I had a general idea of what clubs or activities I wanted to be involved with on campus. But I'm not even involved with all of them, and have ended up joining a sorority--something I never expected to do! Just try and keep an open mind about what you want to do during your 4 years here.
3. Take comfort in the fact that there are tons of other people that have no idea what's going on either.
This was honestly my biggest realization during my first month of college. Everyone is trying to pretend that they know what's happening, but secretly everyone is most likely struggling as much as you are and are just fakin' till they make it.
These are my three main takeaways/advice to anyone that has felt outside their comfort zone at college, but there's so much more that I still have yet to learn. Here's to the next four years...
