Hi everyone, welcome back to my blog! I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I have officially now been at Penn State for an entire month! If you told me a month ago that I would be actually enjoying college, I would think you’re crazy. Part of me can’t believe it’s already been a month here and summer session is almost over. The other part of me is still counting down the days until I arrive back home for the week break between the summer and fall semester. However, that does not mean I’m not enjoying college, I just need a little break and I still miss my dog a lot.

College is a little draining, and it was very hard for me to adjust to at first. The first few weeks I was crying countless times in my dorm room. I struggle with anxiety, so I had attacks often, feeling like my chest had 100 extra pounds on it and not being able to calm down my breathing. I was so anxious being here at first and at times I didn’t really know why. That’s the great part about anxiety, you don’t know why you’re feeling it half the time. If you couldn’t tell that first part of my sentences was sarcasm, there’s nothing great about anxiety. Luckily, I have had a great roommate who cares about my wellbeing and took me out for late night walks to clear my mind the first few weeks. I felt very homesick and simply overwhelmed with the schoolwork. I know what you’re thinking while reading this paragraph, if you felt like this why did you say you are enjoying college?

Well, I started putting myself out there more. I talked to people on my floor and went out to a Spikes game a few weeks ago. There, I became friends with some people that I hang out with every day now. Having friends to hang out with makes college so much more fun and less stressful. I also got myself a job at the Penn State bookstore as a cashier, so I could make some money and also better my time management. One of the good things about having a job is knowing I have to work around my schedule and get my schoolwork done before my shifts. This has helped me limit my procrastination habit from high school and make my college workload less overwhelming.

In terms of feeling homesick, I definitely still occasionally feel homesick. However, it’s not nearly as often and I’ve been able to get to the point where I don’t sob every time I think about home. I haven’t cried in 3 weeks now! That’s an accomplishment I would say. I haven’t been home since the July 4th weekend, so I’m excited to come home in a few weeks for a well-deserved week break before the fall semester starts. I also have learned that it helps not to be alone in my dorm room for hours because I will be alone with my thoughts and sometimes that makes me miss home. I find myself walking downtown after class if I feel overwhelmed, taking in the campus which helps calm me.

I’m still learning things about college to be the best version of myself I can possibly be, however I have grown as a person the past month being at Penn State and I’m proud of myself for that. The summer session has really helped me have a smooth transition from high school to college and I’m so glad I did it because I think I would have been very overwhelmed adjusting to Penn State with 46,000 students on campus compared to the 2,000 during the summer. I not only have been making new friends and picking up better study habits, but I also have learned the campus well. I truly can’t believe it’s been a month of me being a college student, but wow has it been the most challenging and also rewarding month of my life! That will conclude this blog post, see you for my next one!

contact akb6783@psu.edu or ashley_beres1 on twitter