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Going far from home?

The experience of leaving home to attend higher education can be best described as a very erratic myriad of emotions.” These were the words uttered by my roommate who, like me, left home to attend a college very far away. I cannot argue with his words because I felt the same way.

I’m from a small town in the vicinity of New York, N.Y., a suburb so complete with the feeling of community that is often portrayed in movies that feature suburbia. That town is almost 3,000 miles away from where I currently attend school.

I came to the University of Southern California with my mom. When she left, after helping me move in, I was in Los Angeles with no friends, no family and a dorm room that I could not yet call home.

Like anybody moving away from home, I went through several emotional stages. First, I was quietly confident. I had made it this far, so of course I could wrestle this beast called “college.” Once I finished a number of first-day orientations, I was in awe at the opportunities that USC offered. Soon, however, I felt the cymbal of homesickness crash in front of me. I went through feelings like desperation for familial contact,  fear of failure and utter doubt.

So to all you juniors who are considering a college far from home, take solace in the fact that moving away is difficult for everybody. But there are simple ways to make your transition less like a roller coaster and more like the peaceful “It’s A Small World” boat ride at Disney World. For Arun Antonyraj, my roommate from Wisconsin, “patience definitely was the most helpful undertaking during this time of adjustment.” For some, having a laid-back attitude and an awareness of the transitional emotional state you’ll undergo works well.

I actively pursued organizations of interest to me. I wanted to be enveloped by the variety of students at USC. This way, I could build friendships, build an internal sense of community, and I could find ways to feel better integrated into an environment I initially found so foreign.

Ultimately, you are the best judge of your abilities, strengths and weaknesses. You have at least some knowledge of what works best for you, so the most important note is to generally trust your instincts. They’ll even work 3,000 miles away from home.

Mike Maturo is a junior at the University of Southern California.

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