First off - I'm sponsoring the blog Mocha Fox this month and she featured me last night! Click this link to check it out. :)
Now, back to our regularly scheduled summer programming. Its......
Today's topic is "Moving Away From Home."
The cars were packed. Clothes, coffee maker, TV, new bed sheets and comforter, books, plastic tubs, somehow it all fit. It's a strange feeling when you realize everything you need to live on for an entire semester can fit into a car.
Beyond that though, I was excited. After months of agonizing and debating during my senior year about where I was going to go to college, I was finally on my way to Concordia University River Forest (later Chicago... the name change two years later ended up being a big thing). With my family and best friend by my side, I was ready.
Thanks to the beautiful thing that is Chicago traffic, the ride there was only an hour but an annoying one. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. Stop. Stop Stop. Go. My best friend and I did have fun poking fun at the random businesses we passed by though, like the ghetto fortune teller. You gotta love Chicago.
But we made it, and in plenty of time.
We were the first people to arrive on freshman move in day. Which meant we had A LOT of help getting my junk into my dorm room. Later that room would be referred to as a jail cell due to the cinder block walls, small space, and the one tiny window that let in a minuscule amount of daylight. However, I didn't see it like that yet. To me, it was my first home away from home.
We were greeted by some very... enthusiastic (to put it lightly)... college students dressed in the strangest shorts I had ever seen.
I didn't know then that I would become one of them the three years following.
I was peppered with questions, the ones I would hear for the next several weeks. After a few hours, the answers came to me like breathing.
What's your name?
Emily.
Where are you from?
Chicago.
What's your major?
Director of Christian Education (DCE)
What dorm are you in?
Gross. (Seriously.... it was named Gross Hall and the lounge was called "The Gross Pits.")
I didn't mind though. I loved the welcome I got, and it didn't hurt that the boys helping me to arrange my bunk beds and lift heavy boxes were extremely good looking.
Honestly, the day was a bit of a whirlwind. Not too long after me, other girls began to move onto my floor and all of my stuff was in my dorm room quickly. My best friend was even able to help me organize my desk. She's much better at those things than I am.
I do remember walking back to my room though after I walked my parents to the parking garage for them to make the journey home.
I felt bad that I wasn't crying. It wasn't that I wouldn't miss my family and friends and being home. I would. But I was excited for the next portion of my life. It was surprising how quickly I was able to move on from high school and ready to make new friends, have new experiences, and start a new chapter. Granted, I still had a bedroom to go back to during vacations and such. Yet, even when I went back it wasn't quite home for me. Childhood was gone and I was ready for whatever came next.
I tried to find a photo from my freshman move in day, but couldn't. However, here is a picture of my freshman camp group. Aren't we beautiful? Haha.
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| Please note the crazy green shorts my leader is wearing.... |
Omg!! I so remember that day!!!! I was so excited for you....and sad too bc through out high school we were basically attached at the hip, lol. We had our lockers together, were in band together, had classes together, and even had specific seats at CR theater (theater 6, row 15, on the right side). So, knowing you'd be away at school made me sad :-(. But, I was so excited for you to have this new awesome experience!!! Plus, I really enjoyed the times I stayed overnight at ur dorm :-). Love ya bestie!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOMG! CURF memories! Who was your camp staff leader? I can't make her out.
ReplyDeleteHaha, so funny that your halls were called Gross! This reminded me of when I moved into halls at my university - also my first time living away from home. My room was in a hall that had been built in a 60s and reminded people of either a prison, a hospital, or really cheap and nasty holiday apartments! My room was kind of horrible but I learnt to love it and really make it my own.
ReplyDeleteI also didn't cry when my parents left and felt bad about it. But I did feel really strange. It took a little while to adjust and I definitely felt homesick for the first month or so, but I soon settled in. Living in an ugly building with heating and plumbing problems was definitely interesting... but it was all part of the student experience - great memories!