“These four years of your life are going to fly by!” The infamous, eye-roll-worthy remark every college graduate feels the need to share when you are a freshman. The first few weeks of school, I remember thinking, “I sure as fuck hope so.”
I grew up in the Northeast, boldly and bravely deciding on a whim to move south for school. In lieu of full transparency, I hated football, but gamedays looked electric. I craved exposure to a new culture outside of my adolescent bubble. Utterly oblivious and blissfully curious, I unknowingly embarked on an emotional journey to the start of the rest of my life. These four years resulted in me discovering who I am at my core, developing meaningful connections and learning how to take tequila shots properly.
Here are my greatest takeaways:
1. If you don’t like where you grew up or you feel stuck, leave. Go explore. Go somewhere that feels far-fetched, unexpected. People in your life may not “get it,” but the risk will result in an unveiling of life you didn’t even know existed. If you love home, definitely leave. The wisdom, independence and reality check you gain when you move out of your hometown is unmatched.
2. College really does feel like a dream. It is such an incredibly liberating, challenging and beautiful experience. (The verdict is in: it does in fact fly by). Your most valuable learned lessons will occur outside of the classroom, but still go to class and develop some self-discipline.
3. You will live nine lives in college, maybe even more. I can still and will always recall countless monumental days, nights, trips, friendships, memories, apartments, inside jokes, professors, etc. It is the epitome of a constantly evolving environment. This sounds overwhelming, but each component leaves an imprint on your heart and on your mind.
4. The college social scene is super fun, but, don’t forget you need a legitimate support system to survive. Find friends that become family. You will cry a lot together. Laugh until you can’t speak. Cook meals together. Study, seek advice and self-disclose to an elevated level. Drive each other to Urgent Care. Spend hours getting ready and listening to music. Go grocery shopping, and to the bank, the car wash and all those things your parents did with you (or for you). This part of college was by far my favorite. The unique bond you establish keeps you sane during the tough times and shows you true loyalty and celebration during the good ones.
5. You will meet all kinds of people and it is beyond refreshing. You encounter people who haven’t been on your trajectory before; those “I can’t believe we crossed paths” friendships teach us the most because they provide us with perspective. Perspective allows us to be tolerant of others,
The college fly by is a wildly legitimate concept. While I once spent countless nights dreaming of transferring or moving back to my comfort zone, I soon began to embrace and cherish this beautifully imperfect adventure that made me feel whole.