The New Frontier

If you have read my previous blog posts, you'd know I'm beginning university very shortly. Like, in five days. That's pretty soon.

I'm not living at home come the fall, so I'm going to be packing up my room and moving to an entirely new town in a whole new province. I'm really excited; I love adventure and the prospect of experiencing entirely new things. I'm going to barely know anyone and I'm sure to get lost on campus at least once. I mean, yes, I am a bit nervous, but who wouldn't be? Outside of the context of move-in day, being plopped in the middle of a whole bunch of strangers and buildings with no sweet clue what you're doing would be a little stressful.

All this change will be hard getting used to, of course, but the first week is going to dropkick me out of my comfort zone and into a whole new world of discovery. Sometimes its okay to experience huge changes; at the risk of sounding like a dad explaining camping, it builds character.

It's all very new, which I know some people can find daunting. As someone who never enjoyed high school that much, I determined a long time ago that I would probably have a lot more fun at university where I get to be surrounded with a lot more like-minded individuals. I am leaving a few friends behind, but I know we're all going out into the world to pursue our goals in life, and no friendship should ever inhibit those experiences. Besides, it can be refreshing to start anew, like how a snake sheds its skin. (I'm not comparing my friends to old snakeskin, I swear. They're great.)

I'm someone who really likes learning and experiencing new things, which makes me think that I'm going to be ready for whatever challenges come my way. I'm sure it will be a lot of work, but I'm finally taking courses I chose entirely myself, that I have a true interest in. I'm a huge believer of being passionate about your education and career and am looking forwards to being engaged in what is being taught instead of almost falling asleep and having your teacher give you an extra dirty look.

One thing that I'm all muddled up about, however, is the buying of textbooks. I've heard a lot of things and I can't figure out which are true and which aren't. Some professors use them, others don't, you can sell them back to the store, you can't. That's one thing I'll miss about high school--provided textbooks. I figured, hey, I'll just buy them all used from older students, but get this: the required books change every year! As if it wasn't confusing enough, you're telling me I won't even be able to sell my textbooks to other students next year? Yikes!

Packing, too, will be a bit of a mess for me. I'm an over-packer by nature and would rather not start off the semester by cluttering up my dorm and making my roommate mad at me. I don't really have any sort of gauge on how many clothes I need, or whether I need to bring an iron or not. It feels like I'm going to figure out exactly what I needed the minute I start unpacking in my new room.

Hey, though, no adventure would truly be complete without a few mishaps along the way. I'm almost positive there will be ups and downs within the whole experience, but I'm ready to make some memories and expand my horizons.

Wish me luck, eh?