There's no denying how exciting starting college can be. However, its a brand new experience in a new place with new people, and you're bound to be a little shocked by what you see. Here's the Four Stages of Culture Shock as experienced by a college freshman.
Stage 1: Anticipation
You can’t wait. In the weeks building up to college and throughout move in day, you only feel excitement about your new home. All you think about is how great it will be to live on your own, and not deal with your parents. Even better, none of your classes start until 11 so you’ll have plenty of time to sleep off all the late nights you spend out because you finally don't have a curfew.
All the sights and sounds are new. Week of Welcome activities in full swing, people out and about talking to each other, everywhere you look an activity exists to keep you busy. There’s so much pep built around the upcoming season opener for football and you see so many organizations you can’t wait to get involved in that you completely forget how far from home you are.
Stage 2: Depression
Homesickness. The crazy schedule of events has slowed down and you begin to see your new home as strange and unfamiliar. You might feel sick and alone and it brings on waves of sadness. Maybe you cry unexpectedly, maybe you begin to regret moving so far from home, or maybe you just find yourself wanting to sleep more.
Your professors actually assign work, people go about their regular schedule, and it’s no longer about making the new freshman feel welcomed on campus. It’s all up to you now, and you are starting to feel that.
Stage 3: Insulation
This is where you reject your new way of life. For me, everything in Utah was weird or wrong. The way things are done in the South was the right way. You might experience something very similar. You don’t like the way your professors teach or the local accent might bother you. Instead of embracing your new surroundings, you reject them. By trying to avoid new traditions of your school, you find yourself staying in, missing all the opportunities.
You might feel left out because your college experience hasn’t been the same as your friends’ at different campuses. College didn’t turn out to be the exact thing you thought it would be.
Stage 4: Reorientation
College begins to be routine. You start to remember your class schedule without having to look it up every morning. Your tiny dorm room has begun to feel like home and your roommate becomes your best friend. Most importantly, you begin to feel happy with your new life. Sadness and anger no longer fill your day. Instead, you say hi to the people in your classes, and attend the different sporting and campus events. You find your niche in a once unfamiliar realm.
Not everyone has the same experience with college. Some people face these four stages really quickly, and it hardly takes any time at all for them to adjust. Others might experience them over a month long period of time. Whether you jump right into college life and never look back, or you constantly find yourself tripping and falling back into your old life, it will get better. College isn’t meant to scare you for all four years, it’s meant to make you into something you never could have been without it.
In the end, your happiness at college will outweigh all the homesickness you might feel. Better yet, you might never want to leave.