Fuck, this reply turned out long ^_^; Anyway, on with it!
I'm not sure that telling you my experience will be particularly helpful. Firstly, I guess, because, although I've moved away, I can still be home in just a few hours if I ever really needed to be. That was one of the things swaying me away from Pittsburgh, back a few years ago. Mom always reminded me before I moved that, if I ever felt like it was too much for me, she could be down here in less than two hours. And, though I never had to take her up on that, it was still a comfort to know the option was there. Also, you still have a lot of friends in Springfield, whereas I mostly just had people I was desperately ready to get away from. I sometimes think that I'd never leave here unless I had to, wouldn't take so many voluntary weekends home, if it weren't for you and my mom (and my private bedroom) back home.
But, with all that in mind, it was still hard for me to leave. There's just something about leaving behind everything you've known, even if you never especially liked knowing it. I just know that I am so lucky my roommate and I go on so well from the first; having someone to talk to that was going through the same thing as me really made it better that first night. Then, I organized everything in my room, settled into the schedule of classes and meal times, found a little group of people I could sit with at lunch or talk to in the halls or whatever, and that just became life. Everyone said that was a good idea: having other people to keep you out of yourself, to keep your mind off homesickness or fear of the unknown. And, though I didn't think of it that way until later, it worked. Even for me, ever the hermit. And we went out and explored a bit of the city that first weekend, and it just all got more comfortable.
Being home in Springfield still feels a little weird to me. It's like, things there have changed and I've changed here, and everything almost fits together right, but there's still this little gap between what I knew then and what I'm learning now. It's not particularly uncomfortable or anything, but there's just a bit of dissociation that throws me off now and again. I've decided it has to be so, and figure that chasm might be wider with every return, or else how could one ever grow into their own life? There is a balance between leaving the past and holding on to it, I think, though I wonder if I could explain it properly.
Finally, if you're leaving Springfield to get away from pot-heads and drunks, I can't really recommend going to college as the best way to accomplish that ^_~ There are going to be idiots and losers and drug fiends everywhere you go, and they seem to congregate on college campuses. Not to say there aren't going to be some truly interesting and worthwhile people, or even to say these groups are mutually exclusive, but the first year, at least, it may sometimes feel like you're stuck with a bunch of assholes who still think it's high school, that buying alcohol is a better idea than buying textbooks, and that coming to class with a hangover is a good idea as long as they don't snore too loud.
Having said all this, I still love college! I like it here, love being on my own, and I really like some of the people here (even if they do drink and smoke pot and make little sense to me). I'm so glad to be away from my family, sometimes, and, sometimes, I love being able to feel happy about going home. It was scary as fuck at first, and I thought that I'd have no idea what I was doing, but I found out it's just like anything else--with its good parts and bad parts, its trials and rewards--and, after being here, I can't imagine having to have been stuck in Springfield another moment!
So, um, I don't really have any concrete advice. I hope there was maybe something in all that rambling that could turn out to be helpful ^_^; I do hope that Massachusetts is everything you're looking for, and more, and that you'll be happy and successful in college, and that you meet the kind of cool people you deserve to, though this whole speech is coming a liiiitle early, and I just may miss you like hell, knowing you won't be there in Springfield for me to come back to =P And, hey, always here to chat with ya ^_^
I'm not sure that telling you my experience will be particularly helpful. Firstly, I guess, because, although I've moved away, I can still be home in just a few hours if I ever really needed to be. That was one of the things swaying me away from Pittsburgh, back a few years ago. Mom always reminded me before I moved that, if I ever felt like it was too much for me, she could be down here in less than two hours. And, though I never had to take her up on that, it was still a comfort to know the option was there. Also, you still have a lot of friends in Springfield, whereas I mostly just had people I was desperately ready to get away from. I sometimes think that I'd never leave here unless I had to, wouldn't take so many voluntary weekends home, if it weren't for you and my mom (and my private bedroom) back home.
But, with all that in mind, it was still hard for me to leave. There's just something about leaving behind everything you've known, even if you never especially liked knowing it. I just know that I am so lucky my roommate and I go on so well from the first; having someone to talk to that was going through the same thing as me really made it better that first night. Then, I organized everything in my room, settled into the schedule of classes and meal times, found a little group of people I could sit with at lunch or talk to in the halls or whatever, and that just became life. Everyone said that was a good idea: having other people to keep you out of yourself, to keep your mind off homesickness or fear of the unknown. And, though I didn't think of it that way until later, it worked. Even for me, ever the hermit. And we went out and explored a bit of the city that first weekend, and it just all got more comfortable.
Being home in Springfield still feels a little weird to me. It's like, things there have changed and I've changed here, and everything almost fits together right, but there's still this little gap between what I knew then and what I'm learning now. It's not particularly uncomfortable or anything, but there's just a bit of dissociation that throws me off now and again. I've decided it has to be so, and figure that chasm might be wider with every return, or else how could one ever grow into their own life? There is a balance between leaving the past and holding on to it, I think, though I wonder if I could explain it properly.
Finally, if you're leaving Springfield to get away from pot-heads and drunks, I can't really recommend going to college as the best way to accomplish that ^_~ There are going to be idiots and losers and drug fiends everywhere you go, and they seem to congregate on college campuses. Not to say there aren't going to be some truly interesting and worthwhile people, or even to say these groups are mutually exclusive, but the first year, at least, it may sometimes feel like you're stuck with a bunch of assholes who still think it's high school, that buying alcohol is a better idea than buying textbooks, and that coming to class with a hangover is a good idea as long as they don't snore too loud.
Having said all this, I still love college! I like it here, love being on my own, and I really like some of the people here (even if they do drink and smoke pot and make little sense to me). I'm so glad to be away from my family, sometimes, and, sometimes, I love being able to feel happy about going home. It was scary as fuck at first, and I thought that I'd have no idea what I was doing, but I found out it's just like anything else--with its good parts and bad parts, its trials and rewards--and, after being here, I can't imagine having to have been stuck in Springfield another moment!
So, um, I don't really have any concrete advice. I hope there was maybe something in all that rambling that could turn out to be helpful ^_^; I do hope that Massachusetts is everything you're looking for, and more, and that you'll be happy and successful in college, and that you meet the kind of cool people you deserve to, though this whole speech is coming a liiiitle early, and I just may miss you like hell, knowing you won't be there in Springfield for me to come back to =P And, hey, always here to chat with ya ^_^
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