Hey! I am a student at John Carroll University, studying Business but undecided as to what specific aspect of it. I am from Pittsburgh, PA, so while I am not too far from home, I still get the advantage of being in a new place. I feel like it is important to get away from home. I have four older siblings and there has always been this undeclared rule in my family that you cannot come home until you have been at school for at least a month. While I got homesick quite often and really wanted to see my dog, this “rule” helped me to branch out and find new activities to take my mind off of my family back home. Before leaving home, I was really nervous about how independent I would be, considering how quiet I am at times. I have already started to notice that I am more talkative, especially towards people I do not even know. I may be a freshman, but I am already discovering that college is definitely the time for finding yourself and becoming self-reliant.
It is hard, but thankfully my sister is not too far from me so whenever I really need a break, I can go visit her for the day. We usually go out into the city and explore (this usually means to somewhere on East 4th), which is one of the best parts about going to school in a new state. If I went to school back home, I would know of everything that is there, but here, I still have yet to go visit the best spots in Cleveland. Leaving your home state can be challenging because all of the familiarity goes away. However, six other people from my graduating class attend Carroll, along with a few others that graduated before me. I have met so many people from other areas, too, quite a lot from around Cleveland but other places as well. It is so cool to meet people from a different place and then later view them as one (or some) of your closest friends. One of the more bittersweet parts, I suppose, is being more appreciative of your hometown. There is no doubt that I was already proud to be from Pittsburgh but hitting Route 8 after getting off of the turnpike is one of the best things. I always say in my head, “I’m home”. There is nothing like that sweet sense of similarity. A lot of people here are also from Pittsburgh, plenty that I would not know otherwise, so it is always cool to be like “Woah, hey, what part of Pittsburgh are you from??” Overall, though, I love being here and do not regret my decision at all. If you feel that going to school out-of- state is the right decision, do not let anything or anyone stop you.