It’s pretty safe to say that I've changed more in the past five months than ever before. Granted, my entire life changed; for the first time, my environment has changed and the people who were around me for the first 18 years of my life are now hundreds of miles away.

I never really thought about how I’d change, and how my habits would change, after adjusting to college. Of course, I knew I’d meet new people and make new friends have to become slightly more independent and take more responsibility for myself and my actions, but what I didn’t realize was the effects of these changes.

For starters, I am literally not a functioning human being before 10 a.m. or after midnight. In high school, I was able to stay up until 4 or 5 a.m. doing work if need be and still be awake at 8 a.m. to go to school. Now?!

Now a 10 a.m. class feels early, and the thought of being up past midnight or 1:00 doing work makes my head spin. On the bright side, this has totally taught me how to better manage my time, as I’ve learned that, technically, my days now are much shorter.

I’ve totally learned to be more comfortable talking to strangers. Before college, I’d call my mom or best friend for just about everything: where a store was, how to fill my tires with air, whether or not she thought a boy was cute… you name it.

In class, I was never comfortable talking to students around me that I wasn't necessarily friendly with because I was always afraid of what they’d think of any question I had. Obviously, I’m surrounded by new people every day here, and I’m not afraid to ask for directions or what someone’s favorite restaurant is.

In class, I love communicating with the people around me and asking their opinions about what’s going on. It’s nice to feel comfortable speaking to people I don't necessarily know.

Water? What’s that? It may seem unimportant, but drinking water is so crucial. At home, I was always super on top of it and so good about always staying hydrated. Here, I’ll be getting into bed at night and realize I haven't taken a single sip of water yet. Coffee, coffee, coffee. All. The. Time. I have to make a serious conscious effort to drink water, especially because Poland Spring is hard to find in Michigan.

My whole life, there was nothing like a home-cooked meal. Now, since I’m the one who has to cook it, there is nothing quite like my favorite restaurants. Going out for lunch and dinner? You bet I am! I will say, I still have a special place in my heart for a meal at my grandparents’ house when I go home for breaks.

I’ve totally picked up on my friends’ mannerisms, and my friends have picked up on mine. Of course, my home friends and I literally have our own language, but there was always alone time. When you spend as much time together as girls do in college, you actually start talking alike. I catch myself saying things my roommate says all the time that I would never have said before I lived with her.

As times change, people change; it's part of growing up, and I am certain that this is only the first of many times of maturity in my life… The more things change, the more they stay the same.