As many of you all know, I made a joint decision with my parents after freshman year to move back home and commute for sophomore year in order to save money. My plans for junior year were up in the air in May, but I went to check out an apartment I saw on the Free & For Sale GW Facebook group. I was not really sure if it would all work out, but it did and as of June, I was officially going to live in downtown DC. I spent all summer looking for items to furnish my room, textiles to cozy up the place and told all my friends they should come visit me. I went on vacation right before I was to move in and perhaps due to the constant sitting and six hour delay in Chicago, I began to have intense hip pain. Due to my excitement, I urged my brother and mother to help me move into my apartment the day after we got back and aggravated my hip even more. Needless to say, the weekend before school started, I was limping like an old lady. Because of this, I kept turning down invitations to meet up or go out. Coupled with the fact that many of my friends were doing study abroad, I felt very alone and out of place. This feeling followed me through the first week of school and I believed I could not tell anyone in fear of seeming ungrateful and childish. After getting the opportunity to go home for a friend’s dad’s birthday, my mood automatically changed and I looked forward to go back to Virginia to spend time with people who knew me and liked me. However, coming back home Monday evening, my hip pain returned and the feelings of isolation and discomfort resurfaced again.I have thought a lot about if this is the right choice – if I should be here, living in DC, independently, paying bills I would not have to if I had decided to stay home. And the truth is, I am not sure yet. Although I am thankful to not be making the commute from Tyson’s, I am saddened by the fact I will not be at home, listening to my brother’s everyday antics as a senior in high school, seeing my parents everyday and drinking chai with them in our kitchen or just being in a room that is just mine and nobody else shares it.
I also feel maturity though: I’ve learned how to cook a few dishes, stand up for myself when asking for things and simply how to live life as an adult roommate.
Perhaps in time, as I mingle with more people in my classes and spend less time thinking so much, the feelings of homesickness will disperse. What do you guys think? Has there ever been a time where you found it difficult to adjust to a new environment? How did you help yourself?
