We’re checking in again with new student guest blogger Kianna! Here she is…
“It’s funny how fast a semester can fly by when you’re having fun. Three weeks into the semester I had the rude awakening of homework…of course I already expected it, but after the many Ghirardelli sundae trips, homework hadn’t really crossed my mind.
I quickly learned how truly possible it is to leave my heart in San Francisco, as even on campus standing on the top of Lomo I can look out and see the whole city before me. I’ve heard the saying “nothing is ever perfect” many times, but at the University of San Francisco, honestly I don’t see how it couldn’t be. Everything about living in a lively city and exploring with new friends has filled my days in college with so much joy that even when I go home for a weekend, as excited as I am to see my friends and family from back home, a part of my heart aches knowing I’m leaving people I truly care about behind in a city I’m completely in love with.
Not only have I met many new amazing friends here, but I’ve also gained over one hundred sisters in a matter of a month. Rushing for Kappa Alpha Theta brought me close to so many strong, confident women I admire completely. My sisters created a sense of home I had been missing.
I can’t say I’ve stopped missing home and the amazing friends and family I have there, but in a way San Francisco is my home away from home. Yes, midterms can be crazy and it’s hard to find some alone time in a dorm building where I am completely surrounded by people, but it’s those same people who have helped me through it all. From the specific unique knocks on my door that bring a smile to my face because I know who it is before I’ve even left my desk to the late nights talking about everything from the past, present, and future, the people I’ve met have already made a lasting impact on my heart.
In the short two months I’ve been on my own I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned I really need to remember to balance my time better and carve out time to actually go out with friends instead of thinking I need to finish everything in one night (I’m still working on it though). I’ve learned to stand up for myself and be assertive when I feel it’s necessary. I’ve learned that even though I love having “me” time, when I actually have it I long for the moments when I’m listening to friends play the guitar and sing to our favorite songs. I’ve learned that navigating the bus system isn’t actually that terrifying. And believe me, with my sense of direction, if I can manage to not get lost on the bus nobody will have any major problems.
I know mid-semester is tough, from midterms to the realization that this is one’s new reality, it’s a big adjustment, but even when I feel alone, I know that everybody around me is going through the same thing. Yes, college is different. It’s new and exciting. It’s funny when I go back to Lodi, people ask me “So what’s your life like? Tell me everything!” Then I sit there and think: how can I possibly explain everything? How can I explain everything I’ve felt, from homesickness to excitement to stress to happiness to nervousness to… you get the idea. There’s a lot of different emotions in college, but after I’ve thought about it all, I look up and say the only answer I can: My life is everything I’ve ever dreamed and more. Simple…even in the most chaotic of moments, I still wake up and go to bed with a smile on my face knowing that everything I’ve ever done up to this moment got me to a place I am completely and totally in love with.
So, when people ask you what your life is like in college…I hope you can smile and laugh to yourself as you try to come up with a way to explain everything and after you’ve tried that, I hope you can look up with a big grin and say “My life is exactly the way I want it to be.”
Find joy in craziness, and happiness knowing the stress of midterms is almost over, and most of all find pure excitement knowing college is the place where dreams begin to take shape. Because soon, we’ll look back on every second we spend here and smile because it was life and we decided to live it.”
