I touch down on Campus, the first to ever do that in my family, and the first thing I feel is gut wrenching fear that almost doubles me over. My mom, dad and sister set up my dorm while I watched reminiscing over all the times they each had set up a room for me in their respective houses when I was younger. When I stepped onto the campus for the first time, I was getting out of the car and leaving my childhood in the back seat. After my parents put the finishing touches on my room they lingered a bit, reluctant to leave me to my new adult life. I reassured them with my game-winning smile, and ushered the to their car before tears could fall and brows could wrinkle. I was alone, I had been given advise by my parents but how credible could that advise be if they hadn’t taken it themselves after they left high school.
When they finally pulled off I felt the cold shudder of loneliness creep over my shoulders. There seemed to be an extra hint of sadness in my emotional pit, because the fact of the matter was I was walking into this college lifestyle blind. No one in my family had succeeded at this. I would be the first to do so, and hope not to be the last. I walked to my dorm and called my girlfriend who was also a “firsty”. When she answered the phone I heard an alarming amount of fun in the background. I could tell that show wasn’t worrying like I was. We talked for about an hour about my fears and her’s as well. She had done an amazing job with coping with her fears, and had mastered all of her apprehensive emotions, i needed to know how she managed to do this. She told me that she had just began embracing the changes, and that she realized that even though her parents couldn’t provide some light to her poorly lit passageway through college she was more than confident that she could do it herself! I took her advice and now I am more than confident that I can do the same.
The advice that I am giving in this month’s blog is to be confident in yourself. As a first we have a little more on our shoulders than anyone else on campus. We also have a little more responsibility than everyone else because we are paving the way for our younger siblings, and even parents. However, we should not crumble under this pressure but embrace it. Embrace the challenge, and overcoming it will become incredibly less difficult.