As someone who hated where they grew up, the number one thing on my college checklist was the farther school, the better. I grew up in a small town in a small county, where no matter where you were, everyone knew everyone. I never really felt like I fit in too much there, and I wasn't really satisfied with living my whole life in the same county. I made sure the closest school I applied to was at least 4 hours away and even then, that was pushing it for me. After all, I wanted the whole college experience and that didn't include going home every weekend. I wanted to have the freedom to go out and explore new things and new places that I didn't get to do when I was in high school. I wanted to meet people from all over the country and world. I knew during my application process that if I had stayed at home, nothing would've changed. I would still be the same person that I was when I was in high school.
When I got to college, I realized that it wasn't exactly the dream come true that I thought it was going to be. You're forced to grow up and learn a lot more responsibilities than your commuter friends or ones who live close to campus. You can't go home on the weekends and have your mom do your laundry when you've had a rough week, when you're craving real food you actually have to plan when you're going to be able to go home. You actually start to miss those road trips to Chick Fil A with your siblings, and you miss your siblings and parents in general. When your friends are all cuddled up with their significant other, all you want is to be in your bed cuddled up with your dog. After a couple months, I wanted nothing more than to go home and eat a real home cooked meal and shower without flip flops (it's the best part about going home, I swear). By the time October came around, I managed to get home twice so I could see my little brother off to his first high school homecomings. Of course, you miss your friends from home like crazy. For me, it's very rare that a day goes by that I didn't FaceTime one of them. Speaking of FaceTime, thank God for it, or I would have gone crazy by now. Yes, I have my college friends, but they don't fill the voids that I feel when I think of my best friends from home.
You miss a lot of things when you're far away from home, but you also gain a lot of experiences. For me, I get to take advantage of being close to NYC and especially now that Christmas is coming up, I'm going to be taking advantage of that free shuttle. You also get to meet so many new people, which for me was a huge bonus. On your first day of orientation, you're surrounded by new people who, for the most part, don't know each other. It was a dream come true for me. People from all over the country and world are there and you get to experience all these new friendships and bonds for the first time. You get to find new places for new adventures and you get to make new memories. You get to go home with them on the weekends that you're homesick but can't make it back to where you're from. Besides, pretty soon your friends become your family. Your roommate and hall mates are going to witness you at all stages of the day, and odds are they're not going to care. You guys will be there for each other through all the ups and downs of freshman year and the issues that come with it, but you'll be able to support each other because you're all in the same boat. Your friends will become your family.
Since leaving for school, I've matured in a way that I wouldn't have if I was still in home. I've met people from all aspects of life and all different parts of the country. We've all been raised differently and have different lifestyles and cultures, but somehow it all clicks together. Going away to school has helped me to become a more responsible and I'm not nearly as dependent as I was when I moved in in August. When I look back at who I was in high school, I hardly recognize myself, and for me that's good.
