When I began to looking at colleges I thought I would never go to school more than seven hours from home. I wanted to stay close enough to home where I can come home to visit on a regular basis. Instead, I decided to go to Niagara which is over 386 miles away. Now I can only go home on breaks and I spend a lot of time traveling. But when I think about it if I had to chose schools all over again I would choose to go far away again.
The only downside to leaving far from home is the traveling! I do own a car, but it is too old bring with me to school. It would not survive Western New York winters and the 800-mile rides to and from school. So instead of having a car I take the train home. That usually ends up costing me a couple hundred dollars every break. The price is not the only bad thing, the train ride is the worst part. It is the longest nine hours of my life, sometimes it may take even longer. This break I am finally having the chance to fly home! It may cost a little more but, in the long run, it will be worth it!
Another thing that was difficult to handle was making friends. Back home I had a really close friend group and it was difficult to leave them. I am not that much of an open person and it took me some time to make friends. At times, I felt like I was on my own. I could not go down the hall and run into my sisters room and just talk about my problems. I felt like I could not be myself.
Being from the Hudson Valley and having family from New York City I know a thing or two about good food. One of my favorite foods is pizza and I do not even know what they are trying to pass off as pizza. First off, WHY IS IT A RECTANGLE! Pizza should not be a rectangle, it should be a circle, with triangle slices and served is a square box.
The biggest thing that was difficult was the weather. I have experienced some pretty harsh winters, but Western New York winters are a whole new animal. Last winter I saw more snow in two days than I have ever seen in my entire life. It felt like every time I would wake up there would be more and more snow. I never wore a winter coat as a kid, now I cannot imagine walking outside in anything other than a jacket.
There were all these things that were difficult to adjust to but in the long run if I had to pick schools all over again I would pick Niagara every time. The people that I have met, the experiences I have had and the lessons I have learned have made Niagara feel like home.
