As I am writing this, it has officially been a week since I moved into college. It has been fun, exhausting, and stressful, but overall it has been an exciting experience and I look forward to future life at Clark University.
On Thursday, August 28th, I woke up excited and not very stressed about the hours that would be ahead of me. The car was mostly packed for the small hour trip north. I am a person who stresses over the smallest things, yet for some reason, I did not wake up that way. When we arrived on campus I began to worry. We had arrived in time to set up my room before having to go to the opening presentation, but I was still worried about getting things done in time, as well as meeting my roommate for the first time. Organizing my dorm room and decorating it was an enjoyable time and a nice "last" activity to spend with my family before they took off later in the day.
The rest of the day was spent sitting around for presentations, meeting in small groups, and many ice breaker activities. It was pretty low-key and not very stressful, but I knew the inevitable was arriving quickly- my dad and sister would be leaving me in an unfamiliar setting for the first time. Up until now, I had not really been away from home. Of course I had gone to sleepovers, over night school events, writing conferences, and spent summers 600 miles away from home. Except in all of those situations, I was with people that I knew, that I was comfortable with, that I loved. I also knew that in a certain time span, I would be back home. On move in day, I knew only my roommate, but I hadn't even met her in person before then. I also didn't know when I would be home again. Fall break? Thanksgiving? I didn't know. Needless to say, it was quite terrifying. I walked down the street with my sister and dad to say goodbye to them, and after long embraces I walked myself back to my dorm, alone on campus for the first time.
The night was filled with activities to do in order for freshmen to mingle with others and try to make friends. My roommate and I ate dinner together and after the presentation in the gym, we decided we would go to different activities. The idea of being away from the one person who I "knew" was again terrifying. I went to an a cappella performance, while my roommate went to the showing of a movie on our campus green. I walked into the residence hall that was holding the performance and introduced myself to some freshmen and joined them for the night. As a major introvert, this task was not my cup of tea, but I did it anyway.
We had orientation activities for the following two days, filled with meeting others, ice breaker activities, and meeting with small groups. I found fun in these groups and it was actually enjoyable. One night there was a trivia game between different small groups, and it was filled with laughs and a lot of competition.
Over the course of those four days of orientation, I became closer with some of the girls on the floor in my dorm and enjoyed loud conversations and many laughs. I look forward to many nights with them. Monday began the first day of classes and to be honest, I was beyond anxious. My first class was bio, which was a tough subject for me in high school, but I was excited to begin. There was nothing for me to be nervous about because all of my classes began without any problems. Granted there was much more reading required than I was used to, but hey, it's college. I also experienced my first bio lab of the week. We jumped right into learning and began a lab, experimenting with bacteria and antibiotics. I am excited to continue on with biology and all of my classes.
Overall, the first week of college has been quite the adjustment. Leaving home for the first time is not easy, and yes, it takes some time getting used to. You go from seeing the same people every day, or almost every day of your life, especially those that you went to high school with, to not seeing them at all. College classes have been exciting and different, but in a good way. I am looking forward to joining clubs on campus and getting involved as best as I can. I look forward to the next four years at my new home.
