myUsearch blog

I’ve been counting down the days until my freshman year of college for a long time. I think I started it over 100 days to go. Now, as I write this, I have 20 days left before I pack up my life and move 130 miles away from my childhood home. (Okay, I realize 130 miles doesn’t seem like a long way to go, but the drive seems to take forever. Plus, a bus ticket from there to here costs me a pretty penny.) For someone who has always lived in a small community and never moved in her whole life, this is a huge step for me. Huge.

(Photo by spaceoddissey.)

Although I had a wonderful time in my senior year of high school, the few years before that were a struggle. I had to take a year off from school and repeat the 11th grade because of an illness. Many of my friends moved on and I had to find a new place in the world. After graduation, I had to put college off and deal with my illness again. Now, I’m healthy and working at a convenience store part-time while I wait for Moving Day to arrive.

Naturally, I have some fears and concerns when it comes to moving, starting college and my new life as a freshman. Here are a just a few.

First of all, I’m a small town girl. I’ve always lived in a very small community- we’re talking a couple hundred people, at the most. (For the record, these people who say they grew up in a small town of 20,000 have no idea what a small town even is.) The city I’m moving to isn’t exactly huge, to say the least, but it’s still a lot bigger than the place I’m living in now. Keep in mind, I may be from a small town but I have never belonged in a small town. Yes, I may be a little fish but I’m in need of a much bigger pond.

I’m taking Journalism in the fall. Our classes include writing, photography, politics, etc. I know almost nothing about how the government works- yet, I’m not too worried about it. However, I am worried about Math class. I was terrible at Math in high school and even had to switch to a lower scale math class in the 11th grade. I didn’t even take Math at all in my senior year! I’m not even sure why a Journalism student would need to take Math at all, but I’m sure I’ll find out pretty soon.

As of yet, I don’t know who my roommate will be. Most people in my residence already do, but the person I was paired with decided to live with her friend instead, so I’m currently roommate-free. I’ll definitely have a roommate by the time Moving Day rolls around, but I’m worried about what kind of person I’ll end up with. Ever since my older brother moved out four years ago, I’ve practically been an only child. So, sharing a living space with someone that I could, potentially, not get along with makes me a little anxious. Thankfully, we each have our own bedroom. Still, I have this nagging fear of having something stolen. I mean, I don’t even like people using my stuff, let alone stealing it.

I was a bit of a dork in high school- but thanks to my dork friends (mostly members of the Drama club and school band), I never felt like an outcast. I’ve always been proud of my geekness! But I’m not sure if my geekness is going to be appreciated when I hit college. Will I be accepted as the girl who dresses kinda weird? Or will I feel like an outsider, compared to everyone’s “normalness”. (In this way, I feel like I’m heading into high school all over again. Great.)

I’m even kind of concerned about my general health and well-being. What if I don’t eat right? What if I gain the dreaded Freshman Fifteen? What if I get scurvy or something from not eating the right amount of vitamins? What if I become one of those gross college students that go to class in sweatpants and has messy hair and is hung over and hasn’t showered in a week? I don’t wanna be that person! (To avoid this, I came up with a new mantra: “I will not become a college slob, I will not become a college slob…”)

A lot of students heading into college fear that the Big, Bad World will change them. This isn’t one of my many concerns. I figure, at this point, college can only change me for the better. Regardless, the move to college is extremely unnerving.

Do you have any fears and concerns? Sharing them with a comment might just help someone else.