It has been less than two weeks since the biggest transition phase in my life. All college students probably have a similar sentiment, and there's no curiosity as to why this is such an eye-opening time in our lives. I mean, we go from living with our parents, in the comfort of our homes, to living with other college kids. Everything, whether it's food, laundry, classes, transportation, exercise, or daily activities: everything is up to you now.
At home, I always liked to consider myself a pretty independent kid. I held myself responsible for staying on track in classes and stuck to my own weekly workouts. I started to cook my own meals, do the laundry, etc. So I figured that the transition to college would be no big deal.
I was wrong. I remember vividly thinking that I would never get homesick, that getting homesick was only for the weak. Well, guess what happened within the first week of living on my own? I started to miss home. Not to the point where I was getting overwhelmed, but I definitely found it difficult to fathom that I was no longer in the comfortable little world I had grown used to for the last 19 years.
And as hard as it might sound for me, I am sure that it also took some getting used to back at home. Being in a family of four where much of the conversation is generated by me and my brother, the atmosphere must've felt strangely quiet all of a sudden.
It's like when you get out of a hot-tub, and suddenly feel immensely cold. There's really no cold air when you get out of the hot-tub, it's just that the air feels cold in comparison to the warm water.
The big transition. In the olden days, many tribes would hold ceremonies known as rites of passage. Teenagers would officially become recognized as adults in the social hierarchy after they had undergone this ceremony. Today, leaving for college is the modern version of the rite of passage from a child into an adult. I don't think turning 18 years old feels any different than being 17. I don't think starting the freshman year of college remotely feels any different than high school. But living on your own is different.
As soon as my parents left the parking lot of Snyder Hall, I felt like something monumental was happening. The full effects of the realization (that I was now on my own) would set in slowly over the next several days. It's still slowly setting in. I have since accepted that it may be a while before I have fully traversed this big transition.
But as strange and difficult as any transition can be, I think it's well worth the hardship. No pain no gain, the saying goes. I think I'd rather go and see what's on the other side than sit in comfort in the place I've always called home. After all, there's a whole world to explore out there.
