As a freshman here at UNC Asheville, change "came a-knocking at my door" very rapidly and suddenly. It feels like just yesterday I started high school, like I just went to my senior prom, and like I just walked across the stage to get my diploma. Where did my time go? Where did senior year go? Where did my summer go? I know every freshman in college can agree with the fact that senior year was over with the blink of an eye, and before we knew it, we moved our whole lives into our dorm and we left behind the life we knew before.

Meet Macy and Sadie. I have two Dachshunds and it almost killed me to leave them at home. I probably cried an overflowing, continuous river of tears and caused a flood when I had to tell them goodbye. I hugged both of them as they rested their head on my shoulder and looked at me with their big sad eyes. My heart melted and I almost ran back upstairs to unpack the boxes and bins I had packed my life in. I miss them; a dog-less world is a heartless one. I miss cuddling with them on the couch, hugging them goodnight, and them being so excited to see me when I got home from school that they attacked me with kisses. My parents tell me that Macy (pictured on the top) keeps on lying on my spot on the couch and crying all day, and that Sadie (pictured on the bottom) keeps on looking out the window, waiting for me to come home. It breaks my heart that I can't be there with them, and I am completely terrified that they will forget who I am. I think I left a piece of my heart at home when I left for Asheville.

Meet my best friends in the whole wide world: (from left to right) Parker, Omar, TaCora and Ellie. TaCora and I both went our separate ways attending different colleges, while Ellie, Omar and Parker are left behind at the high school we graduated from as it is only their sophomore year. We all met in choir one time or another and we created this incredible, unbreakable bond that will remain no matter the distance between us. It is hard not laughing hysterically in choir with them every day, not having practically every class with TaCora, not getting hugs from them, or even not seeing their smiling faces everyday. I love each and every one of them for different reasons, but I love them all like family, even if we don't have the same blood. I tried putting them all in suitcases to sneak them in my dorm, but they wouldn't fit. (Who else tried that?) The unavoidable fact is that I had to give them one last hug for a while, but I'll be seeing them over Labor Day weekend, so I told them, "See you Later, Alligator!"

Meet my wonderful family who is my main support system and cheerleading squad. In the first picture, we have (from left to right) my older brother Brandon, my Mom, my Dad and my older sister Lindsay. Then the picture below is a picture of my Grandma and me at my graduation party. These amazing people have taught me so many life lessons that I can't count them all, supported me no matter what, and I am pretty much the strong and faithful girl I am today because of them. It was hard to leave my family behind in Charlotte and my Grandma back in Kentucky, but my dorm room can only fit so many people. I miss my Mom's home cooked meals, watching horror movies with my Dad, going shopping with my sister, making jokes with my brother and even watching Hallmark movies with my Grandma when she visits. It's hard saying goodbye to the people you love the most, but it comforts me that I know it is not a permanent goodbye.

Lastly, meet my best friend for over 14 years, Taylor Pulyer! I met Taylor when I was 4-years-old in preschool, and we have been best friends ever since. We know each other better than two people could know each other, and sadly I was split in half when she went to Chapel Hill and I went to UNC Asheville. Living about 10 minutes away from some one for over 14 years and then living over three hours away from each other is a drastic change. I miss her, but I know we will meet and have Jojo and Taytay time sometime soon.

Being over two hours away from home is a stretch for me. I've always been very family oriented, and being around both my family by blood and friends, who are pretty much like family to me, has always been what keeps my world on its axis. At times I get really homesick and want to run back home, but then I think of beginning this new, wonderful chapter in my life, and I know if I turn back now, I will not know what this chapter holds. I have found the cure, or what works for me, to numb my homesickness, so I can enjoy my new life at college.

Here are some tips to conquer homesickness:

1. Write letters to the people you love back home
2. Skype or FaceTime your favorite people back home
3. Make your dorm room feel more like home by stringing pictures on the wall
4. Talk to people on the phone
5. Text your friends non-stop
6. Write in a journal
7. FaceTime or Skype your pets at home
8. Have people send you care packages
9. Keep yourself busy by joining clubs and organizations, making new friends and hanging out with them, and not sitting alone in your dorm room all the time
10. Bring your favorite stuffed animals from home with you to college and cuddle with them

I hope these tips help you as much as they helped me to get rid of or at least numb your homesickness. You will always miss home, but you can make your college your second home and be in love with it just as much. You just have to stay positive and find the little things at your college that make you happy. If you do that, it will be "Dorm Sweet Dorm" from here on out!

Until next time with love,

Jordan Nicole Maddux