You just graduated from community college. What’s the next step? Obviously, you are now ready to go to a four year university. Are you going to commute or live on campus? People who choose to commute probably live the same life they lived in community college, they just have to drive further (or closer). However, some people, like me, live a little further and have to live on campus. Everyone has a first experience living on campus. Just so you can have a good idea of what it’s like, let me tell you about mine.
The week before I came to Rowan University, of course it was stressful. I was running up and down the stairs packing my stuff; at the same time, I was ecstatic because I was about to start a new chapter of my life! I graduated from Camden County College and left my job for this! I thought there were big things coming my way. “Look out world! Here comes Stephanie DiVito!” I thought to myself.
Move in day comes around, and most people are emotional. Not me; I couldn’t wait for this! I was moving into an apartment, living on my own and taking care of myself. I didn’t have to rely on anyone to take care of me for four months. I loved this idea of having autonomy. I have all my stuff packed in my mom’s and her boyfriend’s cars. I’m in my mom’s car going down 55, and I would think to myself, “Wow! I’m really moving into my own apartment.” I was as excited as I was when I was a kid hearing that I was going to Storybook land. I didn’t even care that it was the rainiest day of the year when I decided to move in.
I checked in, got my key, and opened the door to my new apartment. I saw the place, and the living room was a pretty nice size. The kitchen was a little small, but as long as I had my own place I was happy. I’m getting settled into my apartment, and for a while, no one came in. Then, my new roommate walked in, so my mom; her boyfriend; and I introduced ourselves, and so did my roommate and her boyfriend. She seemed really nice, and I thought I could live with her.
My mom’s boyfriend had to leave a little early because he had to work. I said goodbye to him, and it made me feel some type of way because I wasn’t going to live with him or see him as often as I would like to. Of course, I wanted him to stay with me a little longer.
My mom and I went to Target to get some things I thought the apartment looked like it lacked, and my apartment was complete. It was time for my mom to depart. I hugged her goodbye, and of course I was sad to see my mom leave. I knew I was going to miss her, but I wasn’t emotional enough to cry.
When I went to all my classes, I thought I would like all of them. I thought they were going to be good classes, but a lot of work. I thought they were going to be stepping stones for becoming a teacher.
Do I still feel this way now? Of course, I learned that not all of my courses were all they were cracked up to be, but overall, I got a feel of what it was going to be like to be a teacher. I learned more about what I want to be like as a teacher, and what I don’t want to be like. I also felt like I was learning more about English, the area I want to teach in.
I love Rowan, and the experience I got at the school. I still love that I got to be autonomous and live on my own. I thought that was definitely what I needed. However, with the semester coming to an end, you realize that you are overwhelmed and you just want it to be over! Finals are coming up, you have all these big projects to do, and it doesn’t seem like there’s enough time to do it all. This is nothing different than what I experienced in community college, but I’m more miserable than usual. Why is this?
First of all, with all this going on, I got really sick. Why am I telling you this? I mention this because you don’t want to be on campus doing school work. You want to be at home with your family, and the more you think about it, you miss home, you miss your family, and you miss the way things used to be back when you were in community college. I’m currently home for the weekend, which is a good thing considering I miss my family, but it’s only for the weekend. I don’t want to be here for just one weekend; I want to be here every day of the week just living the way I used to. I want to be at home with my family, my friends, my working WiFi, I even want my old job back. Living on campus is nice and all, but it’s not the way that it used to be, and you start to miss that simpler way of life. You know you like the autonomy, but it’s not the life you once knew. Although this all sounds really depressing, it’s normal to feel this way. You feel ready to take on the world, but you feel like something’s missing.
Does it mean that every experience is going to be like this? No! As I said, everyone’s experience is different. Also, this is only my first semester at Rowan. I may feel this way now, but maybe I’ll be back for the fall and feel completely different. This is not the case for everyone; however, it is understandable that someone would feel the way I do right now. If you ever feel like this, you just have to take that homesick feeling and think about the good experiences you had at Rowan, and take away what you learned from that. I know I learned a lot about living on my own and being independent, and I’m grateful for that. I’m just waiting for this chapter of my book to end and the next one to start, which is my summer vacation. With all this said, I hope you learned about what the campus experience is like and have as good of an experience as I did!