May 14, 2013

Finding your home away from home

May. 14, 2013 at 08:00 AM | By Helen Kyle, soon-to-be college sophomore | Comment Count

From deciding where to apply to taking those first steps onto campus to receiving a degree, join Hobsons as we follow students, counselors, and their families on the path from college choice to completion. See more in the series.

It’ s May and I can happily report: I survived my first year in college. When I started my college search and even throughout my first year at St. Olaf as a freshman, I would never have guessed that my perspective on education would change so greatly from when I was in high school.

Not to say that I didn’t enjoy high school. In fact, I had a great high school experience! I was involved in activities that interested me; I had supportive and challenging teachers; I went to school with talented, smart students. Even still, college has been a completely different journey for me. Through new challenges and new responsibilities, college has opened the door to possibility, influencing who I will become long after graduation.

I remember that I didn’t want to go to St. Olaf. Throughout my college search process, I attempted to resist the allure of attending a school only forty-five minutes away from home and definitely didn’t want to go to a school where I was a legacy (my dad, mom, and sister went there). However, as I started visiting other schools I found myself comparing everything back to St. Olaf. After adamantly telling my parents I was not going to attend Olaf, it must have been quite a surprise when I declared that I wanted to apply early decision. As it turns out, St. Olaf was the right fit for me. I am confident that I could have been successful at other schools, but once I allowed myself to truly pick a college for me I found my home away from home in Northfield, MN.

I had many fears before leaving for college. At first, I was worried about the responsibilities that come with living on your own and even more concerned about whether or not I could manage a college workload and also live with complete strangers. There is no doubt that the most rewarding part of my college experience thus far has been the people I’ve met and the relationships I’ve started to build. Once strangers, [now] my fellow students, professors, and everyone else at St. Olaf have helped me learn more about “me” then I would have thought possible in a year. If I had to give advice to incoming juniors or seniors in high school who are contemplating their futures, I would leave them with this: take time to find the school that you honestly see yourself at, even if at first, for whatever reason, you don’t think that school is necessarily appealing.

Finding the right fit is a process that requires you to really think about who you are and where you want to be after you receive your degree. If your experience ends up being anything like mine, you will be surprised and happy with the choice you made and maybe you too will find your home away from home.