Freshman year of college was more than I expected it to be. It was a bumpy road, to say the least, but I managed to get through it. So far, college has taught me a lot about myself and who I want to be, and I think that's a similar experience for other college freshman. At first, I was hesitant to let change happen, but once my mind adjusted to the fact that it was bound to happen, I let it.
The first few weeks were rough. In all honesty, I didn't feel homesick because I was preoccupied with what many first-year students experiment with--going out and partying. These experimentations got me into some trouble. I hung out with the wrong group of girls who. at the time. I thought were genuine people who cared about me. but that didn't turn out to be how it was. They really couldn't have cared less. My time spent with this group of "new friends" began to affect my grades, my relationship with my parents and my life in general. This made my first semester of college rough.
Second semester came around and I distanced myself from those girls, and I began focusing on the reason I was at college--to learn and earn a degree. While I wasn't getting myself in any more trouble and my grades were much improved, I was somehow still feeling depressed and had a lot of anxiety. The past semester was still haunting me, and I was faced with a number of major decisions to make in the next few months.
My family and friends started to notice how I was feeling. My two closest friends from back home stepped in, and we made it a priority to see each other often. My friends at school, who lived back where I was from, took me out to get my mind off of the stress I was feeling. My parents understood that I came home on the weekends not just to work, but to spend time with them and have some space to myself. This time spent with people I knew cared about me and the time spent to myself made me start to realize what kind of person I was.
I grew up in a small town where everyone knows everyone. My whole family lived there, and I was close with a lot of people in my graduating class and below. I had been in such a rush to get out of the boring town of Waterford, but now I was spending the week wishing I was there.
My hometown was a part of who I was. I was used to having my alone time at home and being surrounded by people who loved me. I wanted that again. For that reason, I decide that next year I would be taking the 45-minute drive to my school from home. I would start my sophomore year as a commuter.
Many would say that I'm not independent and don't handle change well, but I believe that this concept is untrue. While yes, I'm going back to the comfort of home, there are still changes that will be made. I'll be working two jobs instead of one. I'll be learning even more how to manage money, because a majority of it will be spent on gas. I'll also need to find a way to be part of my school's community while living a few towns away. These aren't easy changes, but I'm willing to embrace them.
My freshman year at college has helped me discover who I am, who I want to be and what exactly I need to do and change to become the best version of me I can be.
