1/25/2019 0 Comments Living inside the college bubbleDay four of semester two... it's officially the one hundredth and twenty second day since I first moved to Lawrence, Kansas this past August. Moving eight hours away from good ole Chicago was both the toughest and most rewarding decision I have made. You always hear family and friends say how the college days are the best days of your life. I have only been here approximately eighteen weeks now, but I already know that these next few years are going to amount to the "best days of my life." For those of you who don't know, I am surviving and thriving at the University of Kansas, and although I am a tad biased, KU is one of the greatest universities in the nation (except maybe behind my bestie's school). It is home of not only a pretty good basketball team and my favorite mascot, Baby Jay, but also of the greatest sunsets in the Midwest and of the friendliest people. Oh, and of course, I get the perk of having the "Kansas calfs" from walking up and down Daisy Hill at least six times a day (wait till you all see me in the summer, I am going to be killing the calf game). Everything is amazing about school, and even though I came to KU knowing no one except my amazing roommate that I had known for approximately two months, I have met so many friends and people who are so supportive and kind. One of the things that has shocked me the most about moving out to go to school is that here at school, you are in a little bubble. I know, I know, it sounds so strange, but really, living here is like living in a bubble - a large bubble that holds 28,000 students. Sometimes I will be walking back from the gym after a hard workout and just admire the campus from the top of Daisy Hill and think about how lucky I am, but also about how this whole beautiful campus is where I spend 99% of my days. I rarely ever leave campus unless I am going back home to Chicago or taking a quick trip to the store to get pizza rolls. Even then though, we only stay on the same road, good ole Iowa Street. Everything is at my fingertips here at KU. Hungry? I walk two minutes to the dining hall to already prepared food. Tired? I head to my dorm for a quick nap and Friends marathon. Feeling lazy? I walk to the gym. Bored? I walk five feet to the left to visit my friends in the room two doors down. Everything is right here in this bubble. As stereotypical as it sounds, college is really this little stepping stone between teen years and adulthood. You're not an adult yet, but soon enough you will figure it out. I'm sure when you think of college, a bubble probably doesn't come to mind, but for me, it is a good bubble - a bubble of security, support, love, and happiness that has taught me so much about who I am and who I want to be. So going off of that, here are a few things I have learned throughout my first semester here at KU about "being adult...ish" "someone please help me do laundry"This makes me look really dumb and you know what, I totally embrace it. When I came to college, I did not know how to do laundry...weird flex but okay LOL. I never had to at home, and even when I was preparing to leave home during the months prior to move in day, I never felt the need to learn or even try to do it on my own...HUGE mistake. But you know what?! I learned! No, this is not just a paragraph about me being a laundry baby. This is about becoming independent. Before coming to KU, not going to lie, I relied heavily on others whenever I had a problem. I would turn to others for help and guidance. Living without my parents and sister was a change, and I didn't have them to turn to as soon as I had an issue like what to set the water temperature to on the washer (okay I did call my mom but that's besides the point). My roommate was the one who really helped me find my own independence. She straight up told me she wouldn't help me with my laundry because I had to learn on my own. She is the honesty and support I need in my life, as she tells me EXACTLY what I need to hear. She has helped me adjust to living without my sister and friends from home, do things for myself, and be confident in myself. Everyone get yourself a roomie who can be your biggest supporter and also your truth-teller. I have learned how to be independent because of these little baby steps I have been taking, and now, I can confidently say I can do my own laundry with minimal help. But on top of that, I am not scared to be living on my own (partially) and I have found myself being more confident in my own skills. "why in the world are you wearing shorts...in december?!"Yes, I did and still do wear shorts...a lot...even when it is slightly cold out. I choose to come to KU for many reasons, but one factor was that it is about 15 degrees warmer here than in Chicago. So SURPRISE! I WEAR SHORTS! When I left home, one of the benefits but also downsides is that no one is there to tell you to do things. Yes, this is super nice for aspects such as cleaning your room (thx mom) and doing chores such as folding clothes or emptying the dishwasher and for being home by curfew, but your mom also isn't there to tell you to do other things that you have to figure out on your own. No one is here to tell you to wear a winter coat or put away the shorts once and for all. This new freedom is so exciting and new, yet I have learned that it comes with its own new responsibilities when it comes to making decisions. "hey!"Hey. Hello. Hi. Bonjour. Hola. The beginning of any conversation. I came to school knowing NO ONE. When I came for move in day, every face was unfamiliar. Even for me, who is someone who is very outgoing and personable, it was just a tad scary. I had left all my friends and family at home, and I was kind of alone, or at least I thought I was. This feeling maybe lasted half a millisecond, as I quickly learned the trick to making friends and meeting people - Hey. This is such a small word, but a very necessary one. It was the way I could get to know people. Within a day of being at KU, I had already made lots of friends, whether they were people at the dining hall, our dorm neighbors, mandatory meeting friends, and even just my roommates. Yes, I still miss home and my friends ALL THE TIME. But I also have found so many new friends here. I have met people from all different places with all different stories. The students here have come from all over to join this Jayhawk family, and it continues to surprise me and overjoy me when I meet people from different places with all different types of adventures and experiences. Here at KU, we have the charismatic Kansas people. We have all the Minnesota nice friends. We have the ChicAAAAgo peeps, (yes, people do think I say Chicago weird). We have the amazingly cool skiers from Colorado. We have the southern sweet Texans and Nebraskanians. We have the kind souls of St. Louis. We have the sweetest girl ever from North Carolina. And I have even met a friendly eskimo from a great cold place called North Dakota (who would have thought North Dakota actually existed!). These are just a few of the amazing people I have met, and I hope to continue to meet even more people and hear their stories as the years go on. so i guess that's that!College is a huge step in life, and is where I have learned so much about myself. I have learned that I forget something in my dorm approximately 99% of the times when I leave the room. I have learned what an amazing experience it is to live with three perfect roommates from all over the country (they actually are the greatest of all time I'm sorry for stealing them away from everyone else). I have learned I really need to expand my taste buds or else I am going to be living off chicken and cheese and rice my whole life. I have learned to be grateful for my life here and my life back in Chicago, for both my homes. And most importantly, I have learned that adulting...ish is not that hard when you have amazing people to support you along the way. Oh and always remember...rock chalk ;) - t of m&t
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