Off to College
08/09/2014
As many soon-to-be college freshmen pack up their things and head to college, I am reminded of my own experience in the fall of 1975, 39 years ago. Times have changed, but those feelings of first-time freedom and fear are universal and timeless....
originally posted August 21, 2008
From the time I first started thinking about college, I knew I wanted to go to Indiana University. I don't know why I chose IU. I didn't really know anyone who had gone there, and my parents certainly didn't push me in that direction. Somehow, I just knew early on that Indiana was the place for me.
My high school was very small, with less than 100 in my graduating class, and I longed to go to a big university and see what life was like outside of my sheltered County Line existence. IU was about 2 hours away, a perfect distance...too far away to feel I was in my own backyard, but close enough to be able to come home once in awhile. I loved IU basketball, the beauty of the campus, and even the color red! I guess I was destined to be a Hoosier.Graduating as valedictorian of my high school class, I was able to get a couple of nice scholarships that helped out with tuition and housing. Being the oldest of 4 children, my parents were only able to help me some, so any scholarship money was huge! I waitressed at the K & J Drive-In for a couple of summers before college, saving every penny for my education. Mom and Dad provided transportation and bought me clothes and other necessities, but coming up with the tuition and living expenses was pretty much up to me.Fortunately, there were 4 of my high school classmates who were also going to Indiana, so I wouldn't be totally alone down there. One of these friends, Roger, eventually graduated with me from the School of Education as an elementary teacher like me. As it turned out, Roger was the only classmate I really ever saw much of at IU, and even then we only met up occasionally or when we shared rides home on weekends. But just knowing that there were people I knew down in Bloomington with me made it all seem a little less scary.One summer day my parents and I drove down to IU for Freshman Orientation, where they told us everything we needed to know about IU (?) and I met with an advisor to help schedule my classes. I had already chosen a career in elementary education, so at least I had some direction. I don't remember a whole lot about that day, except it was very hot, there were LOTS of freshmen there from all over the place, and the campus was humongous! For the first time, I had a few doubts about whether I could really do this college thing. I was so intimidated by it all, and I wondered if I would ever be able to find my way around. The classroom part didn't worry me a lot, but I was unsure I could really do this on my own. We made it through the day, but even with our trusty campus map we still got turned around a couple of times. We were definitely out of our element, but I wasn't about to let on that I had any doubts. This had been my dream and goal for so long, I was not turning back!And then there was the roommate dilemma. Who would I end up living with for the better part of a year?! In mid-July, I got that fateful letter. Her name was Michelle, and she was from South Bend. South Bend??? The other side of the world, as far as I was concerned. We talked on the phone and she seemed nice (I would later find out differently!), so that eased my fears a little. Mom helped me get my clothes and other items together. There really wasn't much else, besides my toiletries and bedding. Students didn't have televisions or refrigerators in their rooms, and microwaves and computers for personal use hadn't even been invented back in those Stone Age days. So I traveled pretty light, unlike my own kids who had oodles of stuff to move with them. Mom sewed me a few new clothes, the most memorable of which was a raincoat. We bought this plasticy fabric that was supposed to look like denim, and the design of the coat pattern was very blousy from a yoke, then belted at the waist. I thought it was very fashionable, nothing you would ever wear on the County Line but would fit perfectly into the metropolitan atmosphere of Bloomington. I know, how naive I was...but Bloomington seemed so big-city to me, almost like Indianapolis. When I got down there, I found out that NO ONE wore a raincoat, and what I thought was cool was really dorky. How was I to know?
putting on a brave face the day I moved into Wright Elliott, August 19, 1975
Then...what I had so looked forward to and dreaded all at the same time...it was time for them to leave me there. I remember holding back tears that were damming up behind my eyelids, putting on a brave face, and hugging them good-bye. I found out later, my mom was doing the same thing. They smiled and walked out the door. And there I was. Alone. At college. Alone. And, once the dam of tears broke, I couldn't stop them for a long time.Life has so many milestones, and this was a huge one for me. I had left the only home I had ever known for the great "unknown" of college life at Indiana University. It turned out to be an incredible experience. But, I often thought, if I had had transportation that day, I probably would have headed back to the safe haven of my County Line home. Looking back, I'm so glad I didn't have a car to drive that day, for I would have missed out on so many wonderful experiences, life lessons, deep friendships, and the confidence I developed as I learned I COULD make it out in the big, bad world!
Comments