Moving to Toledo was definitely the scariest thing I have ever done. I was forced to break out of my comfort zone and be completely on my own. I had so many mixed emotions about going to college in Toledo, at first I was excited and then I became anxious and doubtful. Eventually I was ready to move out and be on my own. The hardest part of moving away from home was saying goodbye to my close friends. I was also a little nervous about the people I was going to meet and how I would react to them. I can be very judgmental at times and I did not want that to get in the way. I was also a little nervous about living with my friend from high school but i was worried about how small the room was and how we would fit our belongings in there.
Packing up and getting everything ready to come to Toledo was extremely bittersweet. I was happy I was going to college and would have the opportunity to meet new people and have all the college experiences I heard about, but it was sad because I was leaving everyone I love back at home. Even though my friends and family are only a phone call away, it is still not the same as seeing them in person and going to the movies or out to eat like I usually do. Every time I do call one of my family or friends, I feel right back at home (almost as if I never left).Those phone calls keep me grounded and help me stay in check with reality. When I did say goodbye to everyone, I did it days before so I was not emotional the day I moved into college.
Driving to Toledo was definitely an experience, the traffic was horrendous and unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was backed up for miles and I was almost late to check in. I was already nervous about getting here on time and having plenty of time to move all my belongings in. It seriously put a damper on that day and stressed me out quite a lot. My mom got a laugh out of watching me freak out because I thought I was going to be late. When the traffic started moving and we eventually went the speed limit, I started to become optimistic and I knew everything was going to be okay. Besides the traffic being slow, the drivers we encountered were very obnoxious.The drivers were speed demons and did not care about turn signals at all, I almost witnessed at least five accidents. Eventually things started to settle down and I was able to focus on being excited about meeting my dorm-mates.
Moving into the dorm was extremely hectic. I had three bins and I was not sure if everything was going to fit or not; thankfully it did! I did not think I had packed so much, but it took a little over an hour to put everything away. I kind of felt like I packed too much because as I was making my way up to my room I saw people with only one bin. I finally made it my floor with all of my bins and I saw the paintings on the wall and was extremely impressed. All the paintings were of Disney princesses and Disney quotes. I am not very into those things, but it was better than having blank walls. The first thing I saw on my door was two balloons; one had my name and one had my roommate’s name.Something that simple made me feel like was home and that everything was going to be fine. As I was walking into my room, I saw some of my dorm mates for the first time.
Seeing everyone that lived on my floor was a little overwhelming because there were so many of them; it was very intense to be honest. The day after moving in, there was a floor meeting to get to know the RAs and the rest of the residents on the floor. I barely remember anything about that meeting because there were so many people saying their names and where they were from that it was hard to follow. After the meeting anyone who wanted to go to the Gateway for free food and drinks could go and that is when I really met the people from my floor. About 10 of us went to Barnes and Noble and sang karaoke together. The night did not stop after singing karaoke; later we went back to the dorm and played card games and spoons until 2 a.m. I thought that was a pretty good way of meeting the people I was going to have to live with for an entire school year.
Even though this whole experience was very overwhelming and scary, I know this is where I was meant to go to college. I cannot think of another college where I would have this much fun and find people as nice and caring as I did here. It is extremely weird how fast I became friends with people I met; it feels like I have known them my whole life instead of just two months. I thought I was just going to go through the motions of college life and not really meet a lot of people. I am very grateful that I got to meet these people because college would have been so boring and probably not worth my time. I am also pretty sure that the people on my floor are the only people on a floor who actually hang out together every day and go to dinner with each other every night. Other floors are very antisocial and do not really spend time with each other, while my floor makes Taco Bell runs at 1 a.m. and have movie nights every Friday and Saturday. After this year is up, I think I will still be very close friends with these people because I have grown so close to these people and not talking to them is impossible for me to do. Even though most of the people will be living in the fraternity and sorority houses next year, seeing each other and talking to each other will not be a problem.
Knowing someone from high school really helped me a lot. I was very excited and comfortable with her being my roommate. Having a friend with me here probably was the best thing for me during the first couple days because I was not close with anyone yet and I was a little shy. Having a familiar face helped the transition from leaving home to moving into college. I still have those days of being homesick, but she gets me through it every time I am feeling a little down. Without her, I probably would not have stayed here this long.
After meeting everyone and having fun the first week of school, I finally realized I was going to be okay living on my own. At first I was very scared I was going to be homesick and I would not able to stay at school, but I convinced myself (and so did my new friends) that I was going to be just fine. I loved having all the freedom living on my own, but it was still weird to not have a curfew.I was very reluctant to go out at night for the first couple of nights because I did not know the campus that well. Back at home I was totally fine with walking in the dark at 2 a.m., it was not the smartest thing to do, but I was very aware of my surroundings and where I was. Being on my own after a couple weeks was not too bad and I actually liked being at school better than being home. Being at home for breaks is nice, but I like being with my new friends and hanging out and having fun with them. Most of my friends do not have drama like my friends at home do so it is nice to just relax and be with my college friends.
