People say that college is a time to start anew. You meet new people, try new things, and there’s an endless list of things to do.
The things I’d heard about CSU students in the past showed me that students become homesick some time around September, but I told myself from the very beginning that I would throw myself into activities to distract myself so that wouldn’t happen to me. It’s hard to find that perfect balance, though. How much should I distract myself? How much time should I invest in my long distance relationships? How will they fit into my schedule, classes, activities, and homework? It sounds as if I’m putting my loved ones in the backseat, but honestly, sometimes it’s something I have to do. It’s necessary. If I don’t distract myself, I won’t be able to get my brand new start or, more importantly, be productive in school.
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So what is it like exactly having so many long distance relationships? To start off, it’s already extremely hard in terms of my boyfriend. When you get so used to being so close to someone, both physically and emotionally, it’s a difficult adjustment not to see him almost every day. It’s even harder when the service and Wi-Fi at Colorado State are so bad. You have to keep the romance going, keep up steady communication, and trust one another, all with so much distance between the two of you. For us, it’s definitely a work in progress.
Back in California, I had a pretty decent amount of good friends, including an amazing best friend. I used to talk or hang out with them almost every day. Now, though, I obviously can’t hang out with them anymore, and therefore I have to stick to texting, Facebook, Skype, etc. It’s extremely challenging keeping up with a conversation when you’re running from one class to another and especially when your phone is refusing to send your text.
I also can’t forget about my long distance relationships with my family. I have my parents, brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, and the rest of my family waiting for me back at home. It’s hard to keep track of so many people and to get in touch with them once in awhile. It’s difficult not being able to go to my mom for problems, or to go to my brother and dad if I want a joke, or even to call up my cousins to meet and just have fun.
College is definitely a learning experience. Alongside my schoolwork, I’m learning a ton of life lessons, one of which being how to communicate more effectively with others, balance my schedule, and most especially, my patience.
Oh, and most importantly- which building on campus has the best wi-fi.
Emily Tran
