The idea of leaving your hometown, your family, and your friends is very scary. You’re comfortable at home, you know where everything is, you know who to go to for anything you need, and there are familiar faces everywhere you go. It’s hard to leave that all behind, but trust me, it’s important to get away from it.

When you first get to college, it’s all very confusing. You don’t know where anything is, you don’t really know what to do or where to go. The best part about all this confusion is that everyone is in your shoes. Here’s a little secret I wish I realized before coming to college: all college freshman are new, just like you. Everything that’s new to you, is new to every single person in your dorm. Even though that doesn’t solve the fact that you’re completely lost, at least you know you aren’t alone in your lostness.

When I came to school, I was completely different than I am right now. Leaving my little bubble in Chicago taught me how to figure things out for myself and be independent. For example, in high school, if I left a book at home, I could call my mom and ask her to bring it to my school and boom, problem solved. In college, if you forget something for class, you have to figure that out on your own. You don’t even have to go to class if you don’t want to! If you choose not to go, though, it’s your responsibility to catch up on what you missed, mommy can’t call you out of class.

Another important skill people learn when they come to school is how to manage money. At home, I could ask my mom for money and she could either give it to me or she could say “you don’t need that” and I wouldn’t be able to buy it. At school, your money is your problem. If you waste it all on food or clothes, you’re responsible for that and you have to figure it out. You can’t rely on your parents to stop you from making pointless purchases.

Going to college is not for everyone, but I promise that anyone who does go to school, will learn a lot along the way. Not only will you learn life skills like being responsible and independent, you will also learn a lot about yourself and who you are. Coming to school helped me figure out things like who I like to surround myself with, what I really believe in, and what type of person I want to become. Of course, all these things can be done in a hometown, however, coming to college really helped me figure them out.

For anyone who is going off to school and has any doubts about being on your own, trust me, we all felt the same way at some point. I know it sounds scary and hard, but there is much to learn when you’re away and on your own. It’s worth all the butterflies in your tummy and all the tears while leaving your family behind. There is so much value in coming to a new place and learning about so many new things.