3 Things No one Ever told me about College

College is all about finding yourself, learning to balance hard work and fun and most of all starting a foundation for your future. Yet no matter how many questions I asked or people I prodded some lessens I found are learned yourself. Or- to be quite honest many obstacles I knew nothing of. Many of the struggles I have faced in college already were expected, you know the occasional disagreement with a roommate or pop quiz you missed in class because you decided to sleep in and skip that 8 am. With this being said I've been surprised at some of the tough surprises I am running into.

I. Stranger Stranger

For starters I knew I would probably be homesick, for sure. But never in a million years would I find it so hard adjusting back home even for a couple nights. No one told me I would feel like a stranger in my own home. My friend Emily moved into my room and though we've shared it for many months I all of a sudden feel like an intruder. Sleeping in my sisters room seems silly, and well- I'm not going to push my Mom over in bed either. One of the first nights home I slept in every bed in the house trying to find where I felt most comfortable only to end up on the couch with my golden retriever. I suppose she was sympathetic to how I felt, often bed jumping herself.

II. Don't blink

Stereotypes can be seen daily in movies, in schools, pretty much all around. Often times they can be misleading- high schools though some days it may seem are not a walking Mean Girls movie 24/7- but college, well. All those crazy "college stories" people share in movies you think are silly, and then- you get to college. Every night I go to bed re-playing a scene of the day thinking, "I never thought..." Prime example would be that of my Monday 8 am class. Here I am walking down the hall, minding my own business half asleep when I see a bare ass naked man run from the bathroom into his bedroom. I suppose when you live that close, what is the point in a towel anyway?

III. Wait- this is now home?

When I picked up and moved to farmington to move into a small dorm with a girl I'd only met a handful of times life seemed a little weird. School was school, this is what happens after you graduate high school- you move on and continue your education. Yet, a semester later I have found myself settling in all around- with two steady jobs, a new church family and new friends that have proven themselves to be amazing people. School isn't just school. School is my home, literally and I never supposed this would be the case.

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