I have been on campus four days as I write this article, and every second has been absolutely amazing. I unpacked my bags and boxes. My family left before dinner then I was on my own. Luckily, I found a friend that has been by my side and my crutch since that evening. I stepped into a community at Hollins that has been so warm and welcoming. Everyone is super friendly all the time. It makes me look back on last week and think “what was my problem? Why was I crying and bawling like a baby every day for a week?” Sure, I have times where I’m too nervous to talk and I get shy or I sit alone in my dorm room and feel terrible for being antisocial. But that’s normal and it’s still in transition for me. I have made some great connections with people and I feel totally comfortable walking to classes or just anywhere alone on campus because Hollins is the kind of place where you can smile at people and even have a little conversation on your way to class. Every meal, the table grows with more people joining and my friends and I max out the number of chairs allowed each time. It’s great. (My current motto I say all the time.) I honestly couldn’t have picked a better place.

During my few days here so far, I have been crammed with information and forced to really take a step back and think. Our common reading for the first years was about a minority girl’s transition to a prestigious college where she is faced with discrimination and racism, unintentionally most of the time. A lot of our orientation sessions included topics about diversity and taking a step back to think about people and their stories beyond first impressions, aside from the basic orientation stuff we had to do. It has been some of the best sessions I have been to. To be judged by my appearance then is to break down that barrier someone thought of me. It’s empowering in such a little, but big way. This whole experience so far has felt so liberating and free and enjoyable beyond compare. I wouldn’t trade Hollins for anything and I’m happy I decided to not back out because I was afraid to overwhelmingly miss my family.

Now that classes started, it’s even better. Now I’m not that obvious little freshman running around on campus going to sessions in big groups. Registration was stressful trying to be one of the first ones to sign in to guarantee your spot in a certain class. Then came ordering textbooks. I lucked out and only have to buy one textbook this semester for my Human Genetics class, but I found it on Amazon for $10 for the semester. (Whoop whoop, good finds). I went to my first class, Human Genetics, at 9:10 and had a lecture and learned one of our labs include taking our own blood and testing it. (Super excited for that particular lab). I had time to relax before my next class which is where I went to club fair and signed up for probably six different clubs. It’s crazy, but all those poor ladies sitting in the sun and heat convinced me to sign up. They were very persuasive. I’m now waiting for the influx of emails taking over my inbox. My most difficult class I have been to so far would have to be my Comm 250, hands down. It’s Social Media and Activism. The professor wants us to find a social movement to research and become experts on it then use a social platform to talk about it. It’s actually a lot harder than I made it out to be, but it’s going to be a great, challenging course. I’m excited. I still have my first-year seminar to go to and Hand Building Ceramics on Tuesday and Thursdays.

Moral of my story: just because you’re scared to be leaving your family and all things familiar, go. Go to college. Do it. You won’t regret it, especially not at Hollins (this is for the ladies, sorry fellas). If you do, then at least you tried. I doubt you will regret it and want to go home, but if you do, I’m proud you went and tried. It’s scary and a new environment and it’s not meant for everyone. I have enjoyed every second of college so far and I cannot wait for more.