The transition from high school to college can be a major adjustment for incoming students at Kellogg Community College. Students will have experiences that force them to grow and learn from their mistakes to become a more mature and responsible person. I knew I had so much to learn and mistakes to make so I could get used to being on my own while attending college. As students go from high school to college, the change in responsibility and independence can be surprising, as it was for me.
My first day living on my own was my most memorable and eye-opening experience since first attending KCC. I came with my mom to unpack my belongings and get ready to live on my own. Throughout the car drive to the apartment where I would be living, I felt a wave of excitement along with anxiety. I wondered if I could live properly without relying on my parents on a daily basis.
The first day when I got to the apartment, I started gathering my belongings to move them inside and felt a rush of anxiety. I was definitely not very independent before moving in, relying heavily on my parents for errands and cleaning up around our house. I thought of all this while I was hauling boxes into the apartment and getting a better feel of where I would be living for the next school year.
When I was all moved in and waved goodbye to my mom as she drove back home, it finally sunk in that I would not be seeing my family regularly for almost a year. I felt sad and anxious as I saw my mom’s car drive out of view and as I walked up to my apartment. I realized I had relied on my parents for so much growing up and became more appreciative of how much they helped me grow as a person and was hopeful they prepared me enough for me to live on my own.
This was also where I reflected on what led me to this moment and how I needed to make the most out of the situation that I was in. I quickly became used to living on my own and started enjoying looking after myself. When I moved into my new apartment, I quickly grew as a person and became more grateful for my family.
My first day of college was very memorable and a good representation of what was to come for the rest of the year. I started by going to my psychology class and immediately became confused even before entering the building because the main parking lot was closed and I had to enter the building on a path I was not familiar with. I had never been in the part of the building that I currently was in, but a staff member was there to graciously guide me on my way and I received more generous help by all staff members throughout the day.
When I finally found the classroom my psychology class was in, I walked in and waited with around 15 other students who were very confused when the teacher was not showing up at class time, especially because it was many of the students’ first class at KCC. We all waited for about 20 minutes after class was supposed to have started, confused about what happened to the teacher, until a staff member came into the room and told us the class did not start until the following Monday. All of the students and I had a laugh and filtered out of the room, feeling slightly embarrassed for showing up to class a week early as well as relieved that we will not have class for another week.
This was the moment when I realized my parents might have checked my schedule and caught the details about my class starting a week later if I were living with them. I felt a little comfort from the fact that most of the students in my class also thought class started the first day of school.
This was the first mistake I made at college and I was forced to grow from it, which was something I knew was going to happen eventually. I was glad my first mistake at KCC was attending class too early rather than missing it. My first day of college was chaotic in its mildest form, causing confusion and anxiety almost everywhere I went because I was not acclimated to the new environment.
The first week of classes I had was great and gave me a good sense of what was to come for the semester. I quickly learned that there is more responsibility, that I have to get work done and have to rely less on my parents for assistance.
I experienced a larger feeling of responsibility in my first laboratory session in my chemistry class when the teacher handed out safety waivers for students to sign. I was accustomed to bringing the waiver back home to my parents for them to sign and realized I was the only person that needed to sign it now. This was a memorable moment for reminding me of the increased responsibility I hold in college and one of the small adjustments I will get used to by attending KCC.
The experiences I have had so far in college, while not major, have taught me so much about what my college years will be like in the future. Being in an environment with students who want to further their education is very intellectually stimulating. I have grown as a person, met new people and learned how to take better care of myself in a relatively unfamiliar environment. I gained a greater appreciation for all that my family had done for me to be prepared to live on my own.
College has expanded my mindset on what it takes to be a functional and independent person in society. Several key moments in my first week at KCC and living on my own have opened my eyes to what it is like to be an adult and what it takes to be more independent as a person.
