What I Learned From Staying Home Freshman Year
It’s no question that I grew envious of the people I graduated with who could only seem to talk about moving away and starting their new lives as independent college students, but what I didn’t realize was the amount of growth I would experience as well. I wanted to go to a big university and be able to start fresh after a tough ending to my high school career, and saw community college as a wall keeping me from moving forward. As the year came to a close, I began to recognize how much I actually gained from being at home.
Scheduling is good, but be able to stretch.
I worked as a nanny for five boys and went to school full-time while managing to get exercise and adequate sleep. Writing out a schedule didn’t help as much as keeping track of general time and prioritizing my days as the hours passed.
Studying becomes really important in college.
Whether you attend community college or a university, study habits change dramatically within your first semester. Some of it is trial and error, learning what works best for you and what motivates you, but eventually you will find an effective routine, and it will stick with you.
Who cares if you run into someone you know?
Being at home means still being around old friends’ families and opportunities to see former teachers. Sure, at first it’s mega awkward, and when they ask what you’re doing you wish you could tell them bigger things than, “Working and going to community college,” but there is no need to be ashamed!
It’s nothing to be ashamed of. (see no. 3)
Not everyone stays home because they didn’t get the grades in high school to attend a university. The reasons vary with everyone you talk to. I got good grades all year and balanced a job that wore me out day-to-day while managing to stay sane. To me, that’s an accomplishment clearly equivalent to being accepted and completing freshman year at a Big 12 school.
You get to know yourself.
While your peers who’ve found their dream school meet new people and join different clubs, you tend to spend more time trying to unfold your future. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t join the historian club or Christian organization at your community college! For me, I found that I wanted to spend more time discovering where I belonged and the steps I needed to take to get there.
I grew to appreciate those who work hard for every penny they make and every A+ they earn. My family ties became stronger, and I learned to acknowledge all of the things my parents have done, and are still doing, for me. It wasn’t easy knowing that I would have my face buried in my notes the second I got home from work and that I would most likely be in bed an hour later. All of this taught me discipline and will power, both qualities that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
