From the Midwest to the Nation’s Capital…

It’s been quite some time since my last post, but it has been for good reason–I promise. I struggle to even find where to begin to describe how life has changed between now and my last post so I suppose I will just begin with where I left off…college decisions.

As mentioned in my last post the college I chose was American University located in Washington, DC. While initially ecstatic about leaving for my new home, as the time to leave inched closer I became more and more frightened. I questioned every bit of my independence from wondering if I would be able to find three meals to eat each day to how I would make it to class on time without a parent whisking me out the door. As I look back now I laugh at my worries, but needless to say, it has taken me loads and loads of time to get into this position.

As you may have assumed by my title, I was able to push my fears aside and jump on the plane leaving the comfort of my home for 18 years–Des Moines, Iowa. Three short hours later I found myself in the middle of Washington, DC.

My parents traveled with me to help me move in and boy am I sure glad they did. I don’t think there would have been any way for me to get all of my stuff into my dorm room alone. While it was such a pleasure having my parents with me, I knew each moment they were with me in DC was a moment closer to the time when they would leave me all alone in a new city and return home to their own lives.

As the time came for my parents to leave me I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, for if I did I wasn’t sure I would ever stop. And so off they went and I found myself in a completely new world, alone.

I did my best to throw myself into my classes and my new life in DC. I joined the equestrian team on campus and made an effort to go to a new coffee shop or museum each week. While my efforts to make this foreign city ‘home’ were successful in some ways (exploring each week allowed me the opportunity to find niches only the DC natives knew about), uncertainty flooded me often as I wondered if I would ever feel the way about a location the way I felt about Des Moines, Iowa. If we were to fast forward a few months I would learn that, yes, I would soon begin to feel that way about DC, but like most other things in life, it would take time.

As I write this, I wish I could go back in time and tell my past self that everything would be ok. While what most say is true, the first semester of college will be some of the hardest months of one’s life, it was also some of the most valuable months of my life. While I would never want to redo those months, I learned the most about myself then. My will was tested and I found that I am so much stronger and more independent than everyone thought, myself included.

I know right now is graduation season for all of those high school seniors–I fondly remember all of the excitement in the air I witnessed this time last year. Even now I am so excited for each incoming college freshmen to feel their first day of true independence. But I also want to share a quick piece of advice that I wish I knew a year ago: no matter what happens at college, your parents will always be there for you, even if it feels as though your home is not your home any longer.

Over the next few blogs, I plan on detailing my first year of college both for myself to remember in the years to come, as well as for those incoming college freshmen to prepare themselves a little bit more for the unknown.

I am so excited to be back and I can’t wait to fill you all in on my adventures of the past few months and those to come.

Xoxo,

Quinn