Finals are over, and my freshman year of college has come to a close. While this comes as a relief, it is still somewhat surreal. The change from high school to college is a big step, and freshman year is undoubtedly a learning experience, in more ways than one. Now, we are considered adults, and with that comes a whole new realm of responsibilities. Since when am I old enough to schedule my own doctor appointments and buy my own groceries?
Moving to a new city, hours away from family and everything you know, is a whole new experience. You have to find new everything in your new city: a new grocery store, a new Target, new gas stations, new places to eat, new places to shop, new hangout spots, etc. If you drive, it's new traffic patterns and new roads. If you don't drive, you have to find people to take you places whenever you need something. Quickly, you must develop your sense of direction in this new area or rely solely on your GPS.
As if finding your way around a new city isn't enough to handle, what does a college student do when they are sick? Lay in bed with microwaved chicken noodle soup, NyQuil, and Netflix all day and hope they feel better? Yes, that always helps, but sometimes that stuff isn't enough. That's when you have to finally suck it up and go to the doctor. As a college student, talking to people on the phone is one of the scariest things that I have to do; I loathe scheduling doctor appointments, or any appointments for that matter. Before I came to school, I was spoiled, and my mother would schedule everything for me. I will do everything I can to avoid making a phone call.
Perhaps one of the hardest things you must learn when you head off to school is how to feed yourself. Do you eat campus food every day for every meal or are you going to cook some meals for yourself? If you're going to cook, or even if you just want food in your dorm to microwave and snack on, you have to make the dreaded trip to the grocery store. I don't know about you, but my parents always went to the grocery store at home, or they at least gave me a list. Going to the grocery store is a scary experience when you are by yourself. I mean, I'm sure I need five different flavors of ice cream and a plethora of frozen pizza, instead of soup and vegetables.
College is a whole new experience in general. You are now on your own and have all this freedom. However, with that freedom, we have to learn how to be adults. College doesn't just teach you material from books, but it teaches us valuable lessons in "adulting." I've become much more independent. Learning how to be an adult is hard, so take baby steps, and you'll be able to manage all these new responsibilities eventually. So buy junk food you don't need at the grocery store and don't sweat it if you still get lost. You'll get the hang of this whole "adulting" thing one day.
