College is a major step for everyone no matter where you come from. It can be frightening, nerve-wracking and exciting all at the same time. The college decision process is one that has been challenging high school seniors for some time now. People often ask themselves questions, such as “Where should I go?” “What if I don’t fit in?” and “What if I make a huge mistake?”
From someone who has walked in these shoes, I want to let others know that it is okay to place yourself in an environment that scares you. In fact, it will most likely benefit you and help you grow in the long run. Coming from a small town, I was terrified to move into a bigger environment. But in the end, I am so happy that I did. Sometimes you truly need to take yourself out of your comfortable surroundings in order to find yourself and who you want to be. Attending college in a city has helped me grow in ways that most typical colleges could never offer.
Upon arriving at school, it was overwhelming to see all of the busy streets, large buildings, and intimidating people. You wonder if you’re ever going to fit in. But I am here to tell you that you will. You will learn all the ins and outs of your city and truly define yourself as a local. It may take some time (and you may find yourself pulling up Google maps to figure out your way home occasionally), but eventually you will master the streets of your city and truly feel as if you belong as a part of a bigger picture.
In order to authentically become a local, you will also have to adapt to the local ways of transportation. Most likely,you will not have a car due to the lack of parking availability. But instead of fretting over the inconvenience, I encourage you to embrace it. Learn the streets of your city by walking to and from places. Take the public transportation and understand why it is so important to the urban community. In doing this, you will see parts of your city that you would otherwise drive past. It will give you a feeling of independence and instill confidence in knowing that you are capable of navigating the city all by yourself.
While attending school in an urban atmosphere, there is a high possibility that you will find yourself living in off-campus housing. You might live in a dorm freshman year and embrace the typical college room and board lifestyle, but as you progress into your upperclassmen years, you will want something different. There is a good chance that you’ll jump at the opportunity to live in your own apartment. This is the moment in my life when I truly started to feel like an adult. I was living on my own -- no parents, no RAs, no real authority. Although, with this great new freedom came even larger responsibility.
At the moment that you sign your first lease, everything changes. You learn the real finances of what it's like to live in the real world. Rent checks, electricity bills, and grocery shopping all become actual responsibilities. At this point, you truly begin to understand the value of a dollar. You realize that buying the generic brand of things really can save you money and that maybe you don’t need that new pair of shoes. Students who live on campus all four years do not understand the feeling of having full responsibility in one's life. They have everything provided from them and do not have to worry about basic things like cooking dinner -- they just walk over to the dining hall for their free meal.
Though I cannot give myself all the credit for this, my parents are backing most of my financial payments. But nonetheless, I am given a certain amount per month and I have to figure out exactly how to ration it so that I can pay all of my bills and still enjoy the small luxuries in college. Though it is not my money, it almost feels like a simulation of what life will be like with a salary -- you only receive so much money and you have to make due. I have friends who go to other schools that call their parents for money every time their printer runs out of ink. That is not the case when you’re living on your own. In fact, when finances get tight, students frequently apply for jobs to get some extra cash (luckily, there are a plethora of opportunities in a city).
I do not want to scare anyone out of going to college in a city; in fact, I encourage it. Though it may be intimidating to live like an adult, believe me when I say it will benefit you in the long run. When all of your friends are struggling to figure out how to cook and pay bills, you will have years of experience. Because I took the jump out of my comfort zone, I have opened up to a world that I never thought I would be living at the young age of 19.
