Everyone’s college semester is always different, whether you’re the type to meticulously study or cram right before a final, everyone struggles and prospers in some way. As finals are (finally) coming to a close and homework is declining, it means the end of the semester. I chose happiness over Thanksgiving break, so now I have to deal with the consequences and start studying for my finals. However, it’s time to reflect, recover, and wonder how I possibly survived that group project. This semester was a perfect blend of losing my mind and having the time of my life!
Everyone warns you about moving out of state and that you will definitely be homesick…I obviously didn’t let that stop me. It was definitely scary, but now that I’m officially at the end of my first semester, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. In the first month, I had a few nights where all I could do was cry and complain to my mom about how hard and alone I felt leaving. To everyone who told me it was going to be hard, I hate to say it, but…you were right. Luckily, I’ve met some great friends who helped me see the good from moving away and gave me hope. This, of course, didn’t completely rid me of homesickness but helped me deal with it. I always say that homesickness comes in waves, you’ll feel on top of the world then one random night you’re like why am I here? I want to go home. Trust me, even if you didn’t move out of state, you’ll feel homesick in some way or another. Take heart, everything starts to look up!
After the first two months, things got much easier. I have to say Hurricane Milton allowed me to stay home for a week, and honestly, I think seeing my family and friends during that week got me through. Before that, I was losing hope, but that hurricane break gave me enough strength to get through. However, with every action, there is a reaction. This break put many people through a weird phase. For me, it was so hard to immediately go back to school and do work. I know I’m not alone in this. It felt like I was pushed into the sea, left to sink. It got better, but it still feels like I’m playing catch-up. This is the part that felt like I was losing my mind. Unfortunately, I had to lock in. I had to be so diligent and proactive with everything. If I wanted to hang out with my friends, then that meant I would have to do all my work early. I didn’t want to fall behind again. Again, though, it gets better!
Now that I am in my last months, there have been so many small, fun moments that completely overshadowed all of the unfortunate moments. I went to many events. A lot of them were crafts or painting because those really calmed me when I was stressed. When I say I did a lot of crafts, I truly did a lot. Surrounding myself with people who were quite similar to me helped me adjust well. All I have left this semester is to study and celebrate my birthday. With all the ups and downs I faced this semester, I think I did pretty well for the first time, not to brag!