Like most teenagers, I mentally checked out of high school before I was even halfway done. I was ready for the college life of no curfews, late nights with friends, scintillating college classes, and all the Dominos I could ever eat. Right now, I am approaching the end of my first semester of sophomore year. Right now, the last thing I want to do is leave school and go home. However, for the first year of my time here, I would have given anything to move back home and never look back.
Some people will move into their new school, never feel an ounce of homesickness, make friends right away, and have a magical college experience from day one. For others, including myself, that is not the case. As excited and prepared as I was to attend my dream school, my freshman year was miserable.
When I graduated high school, people kept telling me to get ready for the best four years of my life. Thus when I felt nothing but misery after moving in, I immediately assumed it was just me. Had I picked the wrong school? That question plagued my thoughts up until a few months ago. For all of the SAT prep, the college tours, the interviews, and the essays that dominated my life for half of high school, I couldn’t bring myself to believe that I might have made the wrong choice.
Many of the people I met during my first few months at school told me how they had outgrown their friends from high school and were ready for a fresh start. I, on the other hand, was not ready. My friends in high school were, and are, the greatest people I have ever met and the thought of finding new people who I loved as much as them was simply inconceivable to me.
I called my mom, dad, and sister at least three times a day begging them to let me come home. Even though I was only 20 minutes away from home and living in a city I knew like the back of my hand, I felt completely alone. I owe the world to my parents for not letting me come home because I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. They told me every single day how it would get better and how I was going to learn to love my school. It took me a long time to realize it, but they were absolutely right.
This morning, I went on a “bagel date” with my two best friends. Right now, I am sitting in a study room watching the movie "Lincoln" with a fellow history major and now close friend. Tonight, I will go to a cappella rehearsal where I get to spend three hours with ten of my closest friends and finish it with a wine night. Now, I am genuinely happier than I have been in years.
Admittedly, there are a lot of factors that went into my transformation from freshman year to sophomore year, but the most important one was time. Over time, you will learn who are your real friends and who are not, you will learn which activities you love to do, you will learn which classes are interesting to you, and you will learn how to let yourself be happy in an unfamiliar place.
It took me a year for BU to truly feel like my home; but now, I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. So for anyone approaching or currently going through your freshman year, please take my words to heart. You do not have to feel at home right away. It is okay to feel homesick even if it feels like you’re the only one. Trust me, your transition to college is one of the hardest experiences you will go through in your life. Whether it takes you a day or a year to acclimate, have faith in the decision you made and know that it will get easier.
