Flashback to senior year of high school. Everyone is getting their acceptance letters and making their decisions on where to go. Personally, I am the world's worst at making decisions. Maybe it is because I overthink everything; actually it is definitely because I overthink everything. I even overthink overthinking. So while everyone has managed to decide where they want to go, I'm stuck with my own decision weighing heavily on my shoulders. Life tip: if you overthink as much as I do, don't apply to 10 colleges -- you're just making it worse on yourself, trust me. I actually knew exactly where I wanted to go to college, but there was just one problem, I didn't get in. I decided on College of Charleston because it was my second choice, my best friend was going there, and most importantly it was close to home. Do not get me wrong, I absolutely love College of Charleston and did not just settle for it because I couldn't get into my dream school -- it was still near the top of my list.
Now flash forward to my freshman year of college. Freshman year is a whirlwind, adjusting to both college life and adult life. I would hardly consider myself an adult, but I guess that is what I am supposed to be now that I am in college. During my freshman year, I could not be more grateful that I chose a college close to home because I was not ready to be on my own yet. Sure, I was living in an apartment with my best friend and I had to make my own lunches and dinners (grilled cheese and ramen noodles), but I could still go home whenever I needed to and I had a free laundry service on the weekends (thanks, Mom). I constantly got the question, "Why didn't you go away for college?" but what people failed to realize is that I technically was away. I definitely liked having my mom close if I needed her, but I did not have to go home all the time. I went several weeks at a time without seeing my mom, just like if I had gone to school several hours away. It was always better knowing that I could go home at any point if I needed to.
Now here I am, a sophomore in college and still living 30 minutes away from home. Now that I am a sophomore, I am expected to be a little more independent than I was as a freshman, so my mental "distance" from home has grown. I still enjoy my dinners with my family occasionally and trust me, I definitely still take advantage of my mom doing my laundry sometimes, but it's different now. Sometimes I wish that I had chosen to go farther from home, but I will admit, it provides an extra level of comfort when college gets way too stressful (aka all of the time). So, here's my tip: do not miss out on a great college because it's "too close to home" because the physical distance means nothing, it is all about how you choose to experience the college life.
