As I’m writing this, I have been out of my house and living in a dorm for 11 days, and am in the middle of my third day of college classes. After a five day no technology voyage down the Deschutes River, a four-day orientation followed by classes beginning I have had quite the array of emotions. Beginning with move-in, like most college freshman I was super ecstatic about moving in, from picking that perfect teal and white color scheme, to the “Pinterest goals” hanging lights to those iconic ikea storage bins and closet organizers everything was finally coming together. However living on the third floor of a building with no elevator or air conditioning made lugging suitcases and mini-fridges a daunting task to do in 95 degree weather. But quickly my parents and I were surrounded by upperclassmen volunteering to help lug everything up all those stairs, and they even had smiles on their faces. They began asking where we were from, my major, what I was excited about, telling funny freshman year stories and even giving advice. It was a moment where I truly believed that my college could be my home 614 miles away from home. I had already met my roommate and we had been chatting for months so luckily that stress was gone and I was genuinely excited to see her again and for us to start our dorm adventures together!

After our short move-in time slot, there was dinner and then the dreaded family good-byes. I don’t know if i can effectively and accurately articulate the hurricane of emotions that are entailed in saying goodbye to your parents. My mom and I are incredibly close and it was bittersweet, challenging, harrowing, exciting, terrifying and a million other words. Looking back on those moments now after daily phone calls, texts and FaceTimes I feel much closer, connected and secure with living away for home. However I feel my personal goodbye had a little extra twist. I decided to go on an Outdoor Pursuit Voyage, where I would join a group of other freshman, two upperclassmen and a professor on a no-technology rafting trip. While I loved connecting with my classmates, forging friendships and definitely stepping outside my comfort zone, it was exceedingly demanding to be completely separated from my life, family, friends...my world.

After that trip I was then swiftly thrown into four days of orientation events, speeches, paperwork and chaos. While parts of it I loved including some amazing traditions that really made me feel at home, it was so completely overwhelming that I felt like I would never be able to catch up on sleep or have five minutes to collect myself. There were moments that I just wanted to lay down in the middle of the ground and cry because there was no time to even breathe. Yet now as I am slowly acclimating to college life I would not change the beginning of my college journey for the world. While there were definitely parts I didn’t love, it was truly a rite of passage and a moment in my life that I’m sure I will reflect back on for years to come and smile and say, “If only I had known what was coming next.”