2008 Woodie Awards
Making new connections
College is the first time away from home for many people, forcing them to rely on new social structures
Mindy Brown/ staff writer
Issue date: 8/26/04 Section: The Verge
For most people, their college career is filled with many firsts: first roommate not related to them, first broken schedule, where they may have one class one day and seven the next, and most importantly, first time being away from the parental figures.
We all saw the freshmen and their parents lugging all that stuff to their dorm rooms. It was crazy and chaotic, but students were offered help from the very moment they drove on to the campus lot.
Freshman Justin Hearty said, "There was a good set up [at Taylor] were people helped you take stuff to your room and helped you just move in faster."
After carrying load after load of boxes, TVs, refrigerators and stereos up the stairs (hopefully you were lucky enough to have an elevator), tears were shed, t-shirts were purchased and promises to call often were made. Most of the freshmen both feared and desperately wanted their parents to leave, getting anxious as time rolled on. After a few kisses and hugs, and many more tears, the "P's" as Honors College Dean Bonnie Irwin dubbed parents, finally left.
College life officially started as soon as those taillights faded in the distance. Students were free to do what they wanted without having to account themselves to anyone. People could stay out all night and (technically) didn't even have to attend classes the next morning if they were too tired. It's overwhelming.
It is too overwhelming for some. According to research done by UCLA, one third of students "reported feeling 'frequently' overwhelmed by all they had to do. Over one-third also felt 'frequently' or 'occasionally' lonely or homesick, worried about meeting new people and that they needed to break away from their family in order to succeed."
Homesickness is a major factor in college life, because for the first time students are away from the family and friends that they have come to rely on for so many years. But the fear of having to meet new people is what really intimidates most students.
We all saw the freshmen and their parents lugging all that stuff to their dorm rooms. It was crazy and chaotic, but students were offered help from the very moment they drove on to the campus lot.
Freshman Justin Hearty said, "There was a good set up [at Taylor] were people helped you take stuff to your room and helped you just move in faster."
After carrying load after load of boxes, TVs, refrigerators and stereos up the stairs (hopefully you were lucky enough to have an elevator), tears were shed, t-shirts were purchased and promises to call often were made. Most of the freshmen both feared and desperately wanted their parents to leave, getting anxious as time rolled on. After a few kisses and hugs, and many more tears, the "P's" as Honors College Dean Bonnie Irwin dubbed parents, finally left.
College life officially started as soon as those taillights faded in the distance. Students were free to do what they wanted without having to account themselves to anyone. People could stay out all night and (technically) didn't even have to attend classes the next morning if they were too tired. It's overwhelming.
It is too overwhelming for some. According to research done by UCLA, one third of students "reported feeling 'frequently' overwhelmed by all they had to do. Over one-third also felt 'frequently' or 'occasionally' lonely or homesick, worried about meeting new people and that they needed to break away from their family in order to succeed."
Homesickness is a major factor in college life, because for the first time students are away from the family and friends that they have come to rely on for so many years. But the fear of having to meet new people is what really intimidates most students.
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