I’m
not sure how normal college freshman feel their first night away from home. No
part of my college experience was shaping up to be anything typical, but I
imagine the things going through my head were similar to others leaving home
for the first time. I was euphoric to be out on my own, after the age of 12 I
saw very little need for parental supervision. Six years later, it was looking
like my parents thinking had finally caught up. Nevertheless, it was still
weird to be sleeping in my own apartment (plus two new roommates I went to
school with) after being the room down the hall from my parents the past 18
years. Besides, it was a very nice
apartment. Granted, it cost more per month than my parent’s house in Virginia
but for Manhattan real estate prices (and a subsidy from student housing) I
wasn’t doing too bad.
I was attending The King’s College, located on
multiple floors of the Empire State Building. Yeah, as in King Kong, Sleepless
in Seattle, that Empire State
Building. As all my friends were getting their picture taken for there JMU
student ID’s, I was getting my ESB access pass. I had chosen New York because I
was tired of having the same boring routine day in and day out.
Going to New York was like trading up for an
entirely different life. Nothing was the same. I took the subway everywhere
instead of hopping in my car and battling the traffic on 95. I had my groceries
delivered because it was exhausting to walk 10 blocks with a gallon of milk and
frozen peas. It’s a good thing my mom gave me a cookbook for graduation because
my school had absolutely no meal plan. I was much more fortunate than most of
my classmates who didn’t know how to make anything but EZ-mac and ramen. My
roommates actually started calling me mini-Martha after awhile because I got in
the habit of cooking when I was stressed. Let me tell you, living on your own
in the middle of New York City is very
stressful. All the practice made me quite the chef by the end of the semester.
I enjoyed your blog, because I can relate to it. I never had a normal freshmen year; I went all the way to Tennessee. I was very excited at first because I was going to be on my own. However, a couple of nights there I cried like a baby because I felt very lonely. Later, I started getting use to the life there, but I had to come back home.
ReplyDeleteWOW! That's cool you took it upon your self to go discover something new. A good portion of people at NOVA haven't gone away to school yet. In your opinion what are some of the Pro's and Con's of going to NOVA vice going straight to a 4 year school so far away form home?
ReplyDeleteI think your adventure in New York is both exciting to read and, yet, it left me wanting more. I've never heard of that school: why "The King's College?" Did that school have a particular program that you were taking, or was it just for the adventure of NYC, no matter the school?
ReplyDeleteLet's see some actual details. You tease quite a few of them: how much was that apartment? (We know you didn't have to pay it all, but use those specific details to really drive home that being in NYC was *different*). Did you ever get used to walking with your groceries? How did you afford it all? How long did you stay?
I like how you started with a description of your friends getting their JMU ID cards. Compare that with you: did you need one for school? And, finally, describe that stress for us. Right now, the adventure feels like a lark, but I'm sure it was as stressful as you suggest at the end of the post.