College, the moment a lot of us have waited for what feels like a lifetime. We think we are ready for it but we never truly are. We tell ourselves we will only be a few hours away, things will not change that much. We will still stay in touch with our friends back home, things will be the same when we go home, but they never are. The truth is when you leave and go back things are never the same because everyone’s lives are different now. Even yours.

At first, it is scary. Learning your way around campus, trying to make new friends, learning where the best dining hall is, learning all the traditions, and doing your best to make this place feel like home. It can be lonely at times but you will not be lonely very long. Slowly but surely you will start to make new friends. You will want to talk to your friends back home but you will soon realize that your schedules are very different. You will start to notice you will talk to your friends from home less and less and that is okay.

College is a growing experience. It is where we learn to be independent, where we learn who we are, it is a time where we grow into who we want to be, where we become the best version of ourselves. We learn who will be in our lives, who is temporary and who is permanent. We form the kind of friendships that last a lifetime. So do not be afraid to let go of some of your old friends or to try new things. Do not be afraid to grow.

Things will be different when you go back home, you will not hang out with the same people you used to. It may not even feel like home anymore because you have made a new home at an amazing university. Being an out-of-state student at such a large university can be scary at times but it is the best experience of your life. You will lose some friends along the way and life will feel completely different but it is okay. You will learn so much about yourself, your friends, life, and how to independent.

As scary as it may seem it will be worth it, it will be worth all the friends you may lose along the way because you will make even better ones. You will finally discover who you were meant to be. You get the chance to start over and be whoever you want to be. You get to learn how to be okay being alone and discover yourself.

Going out of state gives you the chance to get away from your home and make a new one and step out of your comfort zone. It will cost you but it will be the best decision you will ever make because you will grow so much.

Going to an out-of-state school can be scary but it is what you make of it and it can be the best time of your life if you let it.