I vividly recall my first week on campus. The transition from a small, rural high school to one of the most populated public universities in the country was undoubtedly an enormous cultural shock.
It was the week before classes began that was the most challenging. After attempting to locate the buildings of my classes in the sweltering heat, I’d return to my dorm, all sweaty and stressed, and try talking to my new roommate, who, to my relief, was very welcoming and faster to open up than myself. Unfortunately for me, she’d already made some friends a couple weeks earlier, so our time together was minimal at that point in the semester.Â
I’d force myself to stroll around on campus, despite the intrusive thoughts and the queasiness in the pit of my stomach. Am I walking weirdly? Why are people walking in groups? Gosh, I need friends. The thought of meeting new people was so overwhelming that when I would eat, I would feel my jaw throbbing in pain from all of the clenching it seemed to do. These feelings and reactions were so foreign- never had I felt so out of place.
In these moments, I found comfort in seemingly mundane things, whether that meant watching the coffee drip from my Keurig or sitting outside the Starbucks downstairs in afternoons. I sought solace in being alone, and found that, with time, I no longer felt self-conscious walking alone while everyone else walked in pairs or little groups. I had my own agenda, and that was not to be rushed. Performing well in classes became a priority, and the other things just seemed to fall into place. As the semester progressed, I was able to meet new people who I got along with and still spend time with to this day.
Many students face these same challenges their first semester of college; feeling discomfort is inevitable, especially in such a new, explosive environment. Adaptability is one of the most important life skills I developed from this experience. Those first couple of months, I was riddled with insecurity, but I eventually found where I needed to be, socially and academically.