Moving out because of university

The scary thing about this young age is that you have to start making decisions that will permanently alter the rest of your life. That sudden moment when you realize that it’s up to you to take decisions for yourself feels like an awakening.

Last May my mind was full of fears and question marks. It was all mainly due to the things I wanted to accomplish before starting university.
I hadn’t got my driving license yet, nor I was mentally prepared to graduate. Even though I knew deep inside me that — eventually — everything I was scared about would have come together. I perceived these objectives as two steps that were too giant for me to take because the path that would have allowed me to reach them felt very uncertain and full of obstacles.

At that moment, the only thing I was sure about was that my application for the Digital Management course here at H-FARM had been accepted. At least something was going according to my plans.

Entering college is a daunting experience that marks the beginning of a new chapter in one’s life. And trust me, in reality it’s not even close to what you imagined it would have been.
Since I’m someone who likes to be prepared whenever she’s about to approach something new, I looked up online other people’s stories about moving because of college to understand how to approach this new adventure. Despite this process of preparing myself for the unknown usually helps, this time it hadn’t done much. How did I notice? Well, let me just tell you that on the day I actually moved to the campus dormitories, I was a nerve-wreck that felt lost and scared. My original plan for this academic year was to say yes to every opportunity that came my way, but that mindset was dying before even beginning. I was optimistic, but still skeptical, and only time would have told me how the following month would have been like.

The process of settling in was made of a lot of things to handle at the same time: my life changed completely and I had to adjust to a new routine. There were lots of activities and extracurriculars to take part in, lectures to follow, papers to fill, and my days were like a tangled headphone wire. I was the dumb trying to bring them back to their original state, which, in my case, was an organized schedule to stick to. However, after the first couple of weeks, everything started to fall into place.

Living on campus can be a great way to make new friends and create lasting memories. It’s important to strike a balance between work and play and ensure you’re not neglecting your studies. Remember, college is not just about learning — it’s also about creating quality memories with the people you care about. Something I can assure you is that the friendships I made at the beginning have certainly allowed the settling process to be even smoother.

I would like to tell you that college is all sunshine and rainbows, but that would be a lie.
Adulthood can be intimidating at first, as you start to take your own decisions and take responsibility for your actions. Doubts may start to creep in, and you may question whether you’re making the right choices. It’s like when you’re young and you run ahead of your parents, but every few seconds you look back to check and see if they’re still there. They smile back at you and make sure that you’re safe. On the opposite, entering into adulthood feels like you have to keep your eyes ahead, even when the doubts start popping out, otherwise, you don’t allow yourself to grow. The problem is that when you start questioning yourself it’s like opening Pandora’s box, and a sense of guilt starts to consume you — “Am I enough for this? What if I’m wasting my parents’ money? I should not disappoint them”. You start fearing that you are disappointing the expectations that people have of you, and this makes you feel like a failure.
However, it’s important to remember that you chose this academic path for yourself, that you’re doing it for your future and that you’ll be able to repay all of the effort your parents made for you (that’s what I keep telling myself at least).

I entered the uni world with the belief that nobody forces you to accomplish your tasks. Surprisingly, that’s how it actually works: nobody calls you out if you’re skipping classes for a day, nobody really tells you what to do, nor nobody cares. Again, this is how adulthood works and sooner or later I had to figure it out by myself.
You have to make your own decisions. When you start living on campus you just want to enjoy your time with your new friends, while the rational side of your mind tells you to focus on work and nothing else. Nevertheless, the part of you that knows you feel good while spending time with your mates wants you to rest and have fun with them. As a matter of fact, you can’t really say that you study at uni if you don’t create quality memories with your friends — it is just a part of the game. Not taking some time to have fun with other people kills the living part of life, which is what makes the road you’re walking on a little more interesting.

I’ll let you sit on a quote I once read, which says “If the intended purpose of college is to learn, then take the courage to define it in your own way.” Be grateful for the ups and for the downs, because they both teach you valuable lessons that will help you grow and develop as a person.

Writing this has been like writing a letter to myself, but I hope you can relate to my words.