Written by Hannah Stolt
Preparing for college was not what I expected. I thought it would be easy! Just pack my things up and move right in. To my dismay, I was very wrong. All my friends had move in dates before I did, so I watched them pack up their things little by little as they prepared to move all over the country. They seemed so prepared! I did not share that feeling. I did not feel as though I was ready to leave home, even though I was only moving 45 minutes away. I just didn’t have the heart to pack up all the little things from my room that meant so much to me, the small trinkets I had gotten with my friends that held so many memories to the photos of all of us together I had hung on my walls.
High school wasn’t the best time of my life, but I liked it! High school was fun, easy, and I got to see my favorite people each and every day. To be honest, I wasn’t ready for my life to change so drastically. I wanted to see my friends in the halls every day, not just over Facetime when both of us had a spare minute. Even though I felt all these things, I was excited for college. I wanted to see what it was like. Was college really like how it is portrayed in movies? Is it something completely different? I was excited to be challenged in classes that were teaching what I really was interested in. I was excited to be in a new place. I packed up my things slowly but surely, leaving out a few little things for me to come back to. I still have all my photos with my friends pinned up on my dorm walls. They are all still here with me, just in a different place. We all still talk almost every day, in a big group text. I am so thankful for those friendships.
Now I have completed my first week of college with confidence. I may not have many new friends here right now, but I have so many to see at Christmas time. My first week of college was exactly what I expected, but in a more real sense, nothing like I expected. My classes are hard, but I am interested in the subjects and have actually been excited to do homework! I’m very excited to see what these next four years have in store for me educationally and socially. College isn’t forever, so you have to make the best of it while you can!
