It's really not what I expected. The first couple of days of college can be socially scary, especially if you do not know anyone on campus the day you move in. Even though I did have a few familiar faces to run to as soon as I finished fixing up my room, getting to know people was strange.

I consider myself a pretty sociable guy, but I could tell my ability to introduce myself exactly how I wanted to needed some dusting off. Going to such a small high school (50 students in the graduating class to be exact), I got so used to the same people that forming a squad all over again required a lot more energy than I remembered.

It can be so easy to curl up in the warmth of those Bed, Bath & Beyond sheets and Facetime all of your hometown friends to see how they’re doing. What I have learned is that although that is time well spent reconnecting, it is also a time I could have spent finding those friends to sit with me at lunch and go out on the weekends while I am in college for the next four years.

Friends thousands of miles away will make you feel better in the moment, but what about after they hang up? Then what happens? You cannot walk down the street of your neighborhood and visit a well-established friend anymore. I realized that the more time I spent building friendships on campus, the happier I was overall, and the happier I will be to see my hometown at friends at Thanksgiving.

Looking back on the week, I realize why people describe college as an opportunity to reinvent yourself. I, and the thousands of freshman across the nation can make decisions about who they want to be and who they want to hang around with because we do not know each other. We have graduated from feeling obligated to hanging out with the same group of people in high school just because you have been friends for so long or you do not want to hurt the feelings by not inviting them to moves on the weekend. Yeah.

I realized that everyone on my floor, everyone in my dorm, everyone on South campus (freshman dorms) are virtually in the same boat. We all are at least a little insecure about living on our own with knowing next to no one (unless you go to PSU…), so why not prop the door open? Why not go to the cheesy ice cream socials the university puts on for freshman? Why not smile at everyone you see walking to class?

Two weeks in, I've adopted the state of mind that not only could I meet a friend for life at any moment but potentially someone closer. It is hard to “lean into discomfort,” for that is the fastest way to return even more comfortable than before.