I have always hated change. In fact, for most of my life I actively tried to avoid it. Going into college is possibly the largest change there could be, an entirely different world you are forced to adapt to. Somehow, though, it becomes normal and out of nowhere, you can’t imagine life any other way.
Which is why, once May rolls around, it can be easy to fall victim to another cycle of change – going home for the summer. As a senior, preparing to exit the world I’ve known for the past four years, the upcoming change brings up a lot of emotions. Thankfully, I’ve learned a thing or two in my past years, which I will be applying as I transition into a full-time position in a new city. So, here is my advice if you’ve felt similarly.
Stay busy
One of the most notable differences from college to home life is the pace of life. From classes, to school work, to constantly being surrounded by peers – time alone is far and few between. To go from that to the majority of living at home can be challenging, to say the least.
One way I tackled this was by remaining busy. Over the summers, I worked as many hours as possible. As a bonus, this is a great way to make money for the school year to come. As I head out into post-grad, it makes me feel better that I’m starting a full time job within a month of graduating.
Make plans
If you’re like me, college has been a time of being around friends 24/7. They see you at your best, your worst and everything in between. So suddenly, the notion of being away from your roomies is a scary reality. Something that helped me every summer thus far was making plans with friends to visit each other. This gave me something to look forward to, and I knew the time away wouldn’t be too long.
Senior Brooke Benz highlighted the importance of seeing friends over the summer, especially on her birthday. She explained the importance of seeing those she loves, although “having friendships from all different states makes that difficult.” Through making plans with her friends, they have “been able to come together to celebrate and catch up over lost time.”
Travel may not always be feasible – but that doesn’t mean you have to fall out of touch. Plan a time to Facetime your friend over coffee, or simply text them updates or let them know when you’re thinking of them. A little bit of effort and planning can make it feel like you’re still together.
Accept it, and enjoy the moment!
Senior Erin Resnick explained that year is “a weird mixture of excitement and joy.” While Resnick is staying at Fairfield to complete her Masters in Elementary Education, she reflected that the biggest change is seeing her friends. “All of my friends are leaving and ‘the people who made the place’ will no longer be here,” she explained. To combat all of the emotions, her plan is to “really just try to cling to the final moments of this year!”
Similarly, my final piece of advice is one that might not be the easiest: Accept the change. While stress may be your subconscious attempt to control the uncontrollable, the only thing that comes out of it is wasted time. So, accept the sadness, the anger, the discomfort. Take those feelings, and enjoy the moment nonetheless.
You may only have a few weeks left with your friends, so stay up late laughing with them. Make plans to go to your favorite Fairfield restaurants, reflect on your favorite memories and look to the future with joy.
Change is difficult, but it is the very thing that got you to where you are today. Whether you’re headed back home for the summer, or packing the car to move to a new city alone, you will conquer the change and embrace the good. Afterall, Fairfield was that terrifying change at one point, too.