When I first arrived at college, I was extremely excited. But it didn?t take long before the newness wore off. Even though I was nineteen, it felt like I had reverted back to life at fifteen. College became a bubble for me with no sense of normalcy.
Most people I knew were thrilled not to have their parents around because it meant more freedom. But I felt that college actually stripped away my freedom.
It was stressful living in a totally new environment and trying to keep balance. When I was stressed, there was no place to escape to because I did not have a car and was confined to campus. There were always people around, and that bubble became suffocating.
When I was a freshman, I decided to stay grounded in the real world. I could not let the college bubble become the only thing I knew. I felt that it was necessary to maintain a healthy relationship with my hometown so I could stay well rounded and sane.
So when I had non-stop weeks filled with projects, tests and meetings, I would go home for a mini-break. This break helped me recoup and start fresh for the new week.
I did not think that, just because I went away, the life I had built at home for nineteen years just vanished. I wanted to make sure I still had a solid support system every time I came home.
Over the last year and a half, if I had plans at home like a basketball tournament, family cookouts or a baby shower, and nothing was happening at school, I would go; I?m only an hour away.
Sometimes, my hometown has events that are too special to miss. The high school I went to has a very competitive football team so every season I make sure to pick a game and attend and reconnect. Once basketball season rolls around, there is a tournament for all the high schools. It?s one of the biggest events, and every time it happens, I make sure I come back.
My entire life at home does not have to stop. It?s a good idea to keep alive traditions other than holidays. Every once in a while, my best friends and I coordinate times when we will be home together because we miss one another and want to catch up.
There are times when I may not be able to escape the madness. For those times when I cannot get away, I make sure I know quiet spots on campus or planned off-campus events reachable via bus, like the movies or shopping mall. Getting off campus helps as a stress-reliever because it?s a new environment.
If you are able to make trips home every so often, it will help maintain some normalcy during a not-so-normal time in your life.
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