Through the years I have had amble opportunities to see that not all family is blood. I've come to the conclusion that family consist of the people you care about and who care about you, whether they are your friends or blood related. Whether you spend everyday with them or only get to see them once every few years, you know your family will still be there for you no matter what happens.
Going away to college, or living on your own for the first time, is hard. You have to learn how to do adult things, while balancing classes and/or work. I have found that one of the hardest things to get over while being in college is being homesick. I have a big family and on any given day I would be surrounded by them, whether I was out at the store or at the house. Before classes started, I had always visited campus with a family member, my grandmother came to orientation day, my uncle and I made a round trip in the summer, and my siblings and parents came to check-in day. I had never known Berea without my family in it with me. When they all finally left, it hit me. I was absolutely alone. I was in a place where I didn't know anyone. I was afraid.
At first, I thought college wasn't for me. There have been many times that I thought about dropping out. Figuring things out on my own and learning how to time manage and balance fun, work, and class was stressful at first. My friends combined with my husband's friends and family made such an amazing support system, always there for study groups or just to hang out with and goof off with. Anytime anyone needs something, be it a volunteer to get them through clinical exams or just someone to sit and talk with, we're always there for each other.
So, we all gather together for important events and our holidays at school are still spent together.
I know that leaving is going to be very hard, going from seeing these people that I've come to care so much about everyday to once every few years. But, I also know that this means my family will grow to include some pretty amazing people.
