I always knew I wanted to go to school out of town, whether I stayed in Texas or not. But I never really aimed for it to be so far away. OK, maybe I’m overreacting a little bit. but nine hours and 600 miles is really far for me. When I walked onto UNT's campus, I was 100 percent positive this was the right place for me. However, there are a lot of things that you do not consider when looking, applying, and going to a college this far from your hometown. I’ve come up with a list of some of the positives and negatives you would never think of when going to school that is at least a plane ride away.
Pro: I was pushed out of my comfort zone.
I lived in my hometown basically my entire life. It was the only place I had truly ever known. My eyes were opened to a completely different place when I moved to Denton, Texas, to attend UNT. I highly recommend going to a school that is not close to where you grew up. You learn so many new things, from new lingo to different fashion styles.
Pro: You appreciate the little things at home.
It’s true what they say—you don’t know a good thing until it’s gone. I realized how lucky I was to grow up in the town I did and with my experiences throughout childhood. It was definitely something I took for granted until I left. You don’t realize how much you’ll miss something as small as going to the park near your house or your mom’s home-cooked meals. Now, I am much more thankful for where I’m from, what my parents did for me, and what they are still doing to this day.
Con: Having to wait to go home until a break.
Home for me is a nine-hour drive or a very expensive two-hour flight. It sucks watching your friends who are 45 minutes away from home get to leave whichever weekends, or even sometimes weekdays, they want. My first semester, Fall 2014, I grew very homesick around the beginning of October. It was definitely a big adjustment to be so far away. I drove home with my friend, Itzel, mid-October. But this is not something I can do whenever I feel like it, and that was a big wake-up call for me. I visited again during Thanksgiving, luckily. I hadn’t planned on going home for Thanksgiving, but again I missed my family (and they missed me).
Pro: Change.
I changed a lot when I moved to Denton, in a good way. My hometown was very restrictive. If you did things “differently” than others, you were weird. I felt like I was trapped in a town where I didn’t belong. Now that I know what it’s like to get out and explore a new town, I wouldn’t ever go back to my hometown.
Con: When summer rolls around, your college friends are not a car ride or stroll across campus away.
Pretty soon, a year has gone by and it’s summertime. Everybody packs up and heads back to their hometowns. I was so excited to come home for the summer, I could not wait to leave campus and sleep in my own bed. But here I am, two months into summer, and I want to go back to UNT. The friends I’ve made over the past year are all at least nine hours away from me. I wish I could just hop in my car and drive all the way over to campus. Sadly, I will have to wait until August.
Pro: Snow
I had to throw this in there. My hometown gets one drop of snow. To come to a town that had snow for like a week or even more was awesome! I'm a winter baby, so I've always wanted to live somewhere where it snows a lot every year.
All in all, I am so glad I chose to go to North Texas, and I would not change a thing. And honestly, the pros definitely outweigh the cons!
