Okay, the semester is rolling. We’ve experienced college exams first-hand, whether the outcome be good or bad. We’ve tried out milkshakes at A Stone’s Throw and picked out the easiest short-cuts to class.
Most of us have found new sisters in sororities or a friend to keep us sane through the hectic school weeks. If you haven’t, you’re not alone.
A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been able to say that I had either. I went to class and talked to people rarely. For me, college didn’t seem any different from high school.
I missed my friends, my dog, my family and even a few of my former teachers. It’s strange, seeing as I have been through this before. I went to Mississippi School of the Arts for the last two years.
For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a residential high school for juniors and seniors interested in furthering their interest or love in the arts. Located in Brookhaven, Mississippi, MSA is only an hour away from Jackson, and for some, the commute home every weekend isn’t so bad. For me, it was detrimental.
I lived four hours away where I could only go home every so often. So, you would think that I would be used to homesickness at this point. But, you’d be wrong. At MSA, I found friends in people that shared my discipline.
We did what we could to have fun in a small town, which mostly consisted of dumpster diving, thrift store hopping and eating pizza on Thursday nights. Meeting people at MSA was easy. We could only go out for a certain amount of hours each day based on our grades which meant that the night-life left something to be desired.
The thing about putting two hundred plus stir-crazy artistic teenagers in the same building together is that someone will start a trend, and we will all fall in love with it. My point is, here, at Southern Miss, there are so many things to do. There are no parents.
The professors don’t care if you show up or not, they’ll give you a grade no matter what. Curfews don’t exist. There are always people hanging out outside the residential halls.
You could play kickball at midnight on the lawn. You can swim in each of the fountains on campus and Instagram the photos to make all of your friends back home jealous. You could go to frat row, even if partying isn’t your thing.
If you haven’t found a group, or you still find yourself missing home, don’t sweat it. Try out something you haven’t done, forgo social anxieties. Just remember, you only get one freshman year.
People say that these are supposed to be the best years of our lives. Don’t waste them locked away in your dorm.
Photo Credit: HCSM Photographer, Samantha Hudson