The Big Move to College
Moving away from home has been one of the biggest challenges that I have had to face so far in the eighteen years of my life. Moving from my home town to the collge dorm was a difficult transition that was necessary for growing up both mentally and physically as an individual. The little more than five hundred miles that separates me from my friends and family has allowed me to become the person I am today, and the distance allows me to grow and become more familiar with things that are a whole new experience for me. One of the many new things that I have had to deal with was making new friends in my environment.
As I drove away from my house on the morning of August 20th 2005, not only was I saying goodbye to my own room and bathroom, but I was also saying goodbye to my family and friends. I just left my house, and had not made it to the freeway that was less than five minutes away from my house when the tears began to form in my blue eyes, and in no time they were falling down my cheeks and splashing into my lap. While driving on the freeway for what seemed like only a few minutes, I realized that I would now have to face the fact that I am now old enough, and hopefully mature enough, to withstand college in a different state. I turned on loud, fast music to distract me from all the doubts and fears I had about college. Eventually I began to think less and less of all the worries I had and more about the new life and friends I would soon have because of this experience.
When we arrived at Northern Arizona University, my mom and I made several trips from both of our cars to the room that I would now call my own. Finally, when we were both breathless and tired, she told me that sh...
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... state. At first, the transition was tough, but through a simple dinner with girls from my hall, my college experience was made that much better. We all have the pair of freshmen, Megan and Amber, to thank for bringing our whole hall together through the trip to Oreganos for dinner. Little did we know at the time, that we would end up being the best of friends in a matter of weeks.
Months later, we all remain close and we know we can trust each other with our deepest, darkest secrets, and even our lives. Although we do have our quarrels once in a blue moon, when anyone has a problem with another person, the problem is settled in a matter of minutes. I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to meet Megan, Renee, Kaycee, Amber, Kara, Arika, Liz and Leah. I believe we will all stay in touch through trials and tribulations during and after college.
When I graduated from high school, I spent countless days worrying about what college will be like. I worried about everything, like saying goodbye to my family and friends, making new friends, living with a roommate, getting involved, dealing with a huge work load, and so much more. My transition into college is quite a struggle, but it is not nearly as bad as I expected it would be. After watching “I’m a College Freshman,” I realized that the difficulties I am facing are all normal.
The day I moved away, a lot of things were going through my young mind. As I took my last look at my home, I remembered all the fun times I had with my family and friends through out my life. Now I was moving 800 miles away from all of that with no insight on what lied ahead for me. As my family and I drove away from our Michigan home, I looked out the window wondering what Virginia would be, and what my friends were doing. A lot of things were going through my mind at the time. At the time my main worry was if I would make any friends, and how I would adjust to everything. During the whole drive down, my mother would often let me know that everything would be all right and I would like it. Trying to be strong and hold back my tears, I just shook my head no, wondering why we had to move so far away. Life would be different for me and I knew it would.
... and I started to realize some of the good effects that moving has had. I now understand that this experience has changed me in positive ways as well. Soon I would have friends in different places in the world that I can visit. I would have many places where I could go and feel like home. Most importantly, I would learn that one can adapt to every town and its people and that friends can be made everywhere. Every place has its conveniences and its problems. Every town has its generous and heartless citizens.
College. The biggest change in your life; the place where you can experience new things, discover who you really are, and fit into the new lifestyle. In “Sophomore Switch” Emily and Tasha had to discover those things when they switch colleges. Natasha Collins went to the University of California, Santa Barbara and switched to go to Oxford University. The reason why she left was because of an incident in her home town. There was a picture online of her drunk and half naked with her boyfriend tyler in a bathtub. Meanwhile, Emily changed colleges from Oxford to Santa Barbara because of a broken heart and wanted a new life but couldn't quite fit in. Both young adults were having trouble fitting in so they decided to communicate with each other and for tips on how to fit in, find new lovers, and also find themselves. Emily and Tasha and I are alike in many ways. We all share the the same view of the world, we are viewed by the world in similar ways and I would respond in a comparable way to the central conflict of the novel. Therefore i believe given the chance we all could be friends.
"Tomorrow is the first day of what I will become." I wrote this in my diary the night before my first day of college. I was anxious as I imagined the stereotypical college room: intellectual students, in-depth discussions about neat stuff, and of course, a casual professor sporting the tweed jacket with leather elbows. I was also ill as I foresaw myself drowning in a murky pool of reading assignments and finals, hearing a deep, depressing voice ask "What can you do with your life?" Since then, I've settled comfortably into the college "scene" and have treated myself to the myth that I'll hear my calling someday, and that my future will introduce itself to me with a hardy handshake. I can't completely rid my conscience from reality, however. My university education and college experience has become a sort of fitful, and sleepless night, in which I have wonderful dreams and ideas, but when I awaken to apply these aspirations, reality sounds as a six thirty alarm and my dreams are forgotten.
I arrived at Sacred Heart Cathedral for my first day of high school. As my friend’s mom drove through the populous streets of San Francisco, I sat in the back seat of her car running through the pages of the planner I had received at orientation. As the thick, smooth pages ran through my fingers, I worried over finding my classes, being on time to my classes, and having time to out my books in my locker. I found the page dated August 24th, my first day of high school. I had all six classes that day, French, English, Honors Algebra, Physics, World History, and lastly Scripture.
For most people, life has a seemingly generic series of events. From birth to death, life is often thought to be a string of standard moments, laden together in a string of monotony. For others, on the other hand, each day can be an adventure. The transition from high school to college is one such occasion where one could easily become lost in the sameness of those around them. Yet for those who can see the beauty in the differences and respect the similarities between the two; high school and college can easily be exceptional learning experiences in their own right.
As the end of my senior year in high school approached, I had to make an important decision. What school was I going to spend the next few years of my life at? When the financial aid packages arrived, I was torn between two colleges. After sitting down with my mother and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of both schools, I came to my final decision. It seemed like a year ago I was imagining what college life would be like and suddenly before my eyes, I would be a college student in a matter of four months.
To think that my first semester of college will be over this friday makes me realize how fast time flies. The first few weeks of college were tough, tiring and full of anxiety. Being in a new environment, a different state and not knowing one single person was something that I did not prepare myself for. Throughout all of the tears and the frustrations, I had to constantly remind myself that I am at The University of Akron to gain an education and become a successful individual.
Through the last 13 weeks I have learned about whom I am and what makes me who I am. I have made some great friends not only my age but also older and younger than me. I have realized many things about myself that I never would have realized if I wouldn’t have came here. College is a whole new experience that you could never imagine unless you are there. It is nothing like you read or even that you watch on TV. It is completely different and you learn a lot about yourself as a person.
It was the second semester of fourth grade year. My parents had recently bought a new house in a nice quite neighborhood. I was ecstatic I always wanted to move to a new house. I was tired of my old home since I had already explored every corner, nook, and cranny. The moment I realized I would have to leave my old friends behind was one of the most devastating moments of my life. I didn’t want to switch schools and make new friends. Yet at the same time was an interesting new experience.
I made the decision to come to Baylor early in 1999 while my freshman year was still in session. At first, people thought I was joking about leaving, but when I persisted in telling them, they had no choice but to accept my decision. I had spent most of my life with some of these people, while some I had known for less than a year. I didn't think about that in the beginning. At first I was excited to go, but about the time of this party, the anxiety of leaving hit me like a sledgehammer. The party was August 10th. I left for Baylor ten days later on August 20th. Those ten days were some of the most anxious of my entire life. Was I willing to give up my happy existence to step into an unknown world of doubt? Well, as you may have guessed, since I am writing this paper, I was willing to take that chance. The question of whether it was worth it or not has yet to be answered.
A new experience, a change from the norm, looking out for myself, and living on my own: for me this is college. The transition of high school student to college seemed immensely overwhelming and even a bit scary. The shift opened a can of worms and created challenges, both good and bad, behind every corner. Due to the change of scene, I am now dealing with the everyday acceptance of the greater world around me: the town, the people and my new life.
First of all, there are roughly only 800 students in my entire school, from kindergarten up to upperclassmen and women, and my graduating class of a mere 67 was the biggest in my school's history. So you were forever running into everyone you knew, and who you had known for your whole life. At times this was comforting, at others, slightly claustrophobic. After a while it was easy to feel that you knew practically everyone's middle name or favorite movie, and it was impossible to...