Going to college is stressful for many students. You're creating a new life and you've never been away from home this long. You had to change your living norms because you're stuck with another human being in a small dorm room. Your academic learning has to adjust from high school to college. All of a sudden, you've procrastinated a four-page paper due at midnight and your room looks like your closet threw up. You have 30 cents in your bank account and the dining hall is already closed. Before you know it, you're crying in your advisor's office asking for any possible extra credit before the semester is over.

I dealt with all the struggles a college freshman endures, and decided to transfer to Marshall University for my sophomore year of college. I wanted to be close to home, and I was financially unstable at WVU. Here are a few things I struggled with transferring to a different school:

1. The application process all over again

Applying to colleges in high school was a major hassle. Having to re-apply, pay the application fee, transferring transcripts back and forth and getting credits approved was more complicated than I thought it would be. It took several weeks to get everything finalized.

2. Making friends wasn't ideal

Transferring as a sophomore, I found it extremely difficult trying to wedge myself into already established friend groups. I almost felt like I was trying fill a void that didn't need to be filled. Most of the time, I felt like an outsider and that I didn't belong because I wasn't there from the beginning.

3. Long-distance relationship

I've never had a long-distance relationship before. Being three hours apart made it very difficult for me to enjoy my time at Marshall. Having to communicate on our phones made it even more difficult because texting is the worst form of communication. It's not easy to maintain a successful relationship when you're apart from each other for weeks or months at a time. No matter how hard you try not to cry, you end up bawling in the car ride home. Every. Single. Time. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but sometimes you feel alone.

4. Being independent

Transferring to a school closer to home wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be. Unfortunately, I found myself becoming dependent on my mother again –– like I was in high school. While I was at WVU, I was all on my own and didn't have my mom just a call away. During my time at Marshall, I felt as though I wasn't growing as an adult in college. I craved that independence again, and knew that I wouldn't get it unless I was farther away from home.

5. Missing my friends from WVU

The friendships I made at WVU were the ones I knew that I would have for the rest of my life. It was one of the hardest things about transferring because they made getting through college so much easier. It was challenging keeping in touch with them and maintaining our friendships.

6. Choosing a major

WVU and Marshall have similar programs, but they also have different criteria. What I wanted to do at Marshall wasn't offered but was offered at WVU, so I had to adjust to Marshall's program. Although being at Marshall led me to finding my passion in journalism, I was more interested in being in WVU's Reed College of Media.