As the summer season begins its transition towards fall, the idea of going back to school becomes very real. For many it means going away to college for the first year and being nervously excited for the beginning of a new era. While this is an exhilarating time, it can also be daunting to ponder the frightful possibility that you may not even like college. I, too, was a nervous freshman last August and could not get my mind off of what my roommate would be like, or how big my room would be.
The first day I arrived on campus, I was assigned to a group to meet and do activities with for the days to come during orientation. Most of it was all routine get-to-know-you games interspersed between informational seminars telling us how to handle the new environment. One afternoon during a group meeting we were posed with the seemingly simple task to come up with one place or activity where we felt most at home. Confused for a moment, I decided that my “happy place” was every morning when I would groggily find my way to the shower where I would sing before everybody woke up. It sounded stupid, even to me, but it truly is therapeutic.
There are awkward times when you transition from one stage of your life to the next, and it is important to have a place to stay grounded. A shower to me is a place where I can be myself and it reminds me who I am every day. Even though the running water and thin walls definitely don’t drown out the sound of me singing Blink 182, the illusion of a perfectly secluded room is enough for me. It is a perfect way to practice letting go of social norms and doing what you want.
A friends father once told me, after discussing our chances of making playoffs that year, “You do you.” In other words, he meant to tell me that the best way to succeed is to focus on yourself and let go of anything out of your control. “Short and sweet”, I thought and these words somehow have stuck with me. It’s weird that I get such a kick out of singing Mariah Carey while bathing, but I still do it. Even if you are brand new at a school and everyone seems “different” or not like your old friends, trust whom you really are to find the right people. Customarily I would not have such a defined memory of an orientation meeting, but the question they asked us helped me in my transition to college. I’ve always loved singing in the shower (who doesn’t?), and it has been valuable to have something to look forward to daily. For everyone, especially those new college students, take a minute to figure out where you can truly do you.
