Wow I am the first to post!!!  Anyway.  P!  I can’t believe you are in college.  It seems such a short time ago I was helping you with your JR High math, shoot, even your elem. math, ha ha.  I don’t have a lot of advice about how things get better, because as you know I went to Cameron, twice, but I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished.  You have taken great strides in packing up and talking you parents in to moving the family to Kuwait.  You have come so far from the young cheerleader who used to call my son your bf.  You have lived a life that I could only dream of, and had the courage to do so much.  I think of you and your family all the time.  I see you as part of my family.  We both had major adjustments in our lives at about the same time.  We both started over in different worlds you with moving to Kuwait, and me with starting a life with just me and the kids.  So in that I can say things do get better.  I have met the one it should have been all along and have a great life now.  You will do the same in all that you do with school and future careers as well as personally, I know.

Sorry that I am rambling, and I hope that it all makes sense.  Hope to hear from you all soon.

Lyna

I don’t really have any crazy memories from the first year of college.  It was rather uneventful.  I did spend every MWF in the student union listening to Pink Floyd and drawing between classes.  That was fun.  And, I used to have breakfast with Jeremiah Sperling on those days too...which was interesting.  But, going to my classes, meeting new people, and the freedom college afforded me completely made the bad days worth it.  So for P, don’t let it get you down because it will get better and you will have so much fun and so many memories that when it’s over, you will wish you didn’t have to go.  Have a wonderful first week at school.

Oh, crap.  On my very first day of college, I ran into my roommate in the lobby of our dorm--she had locked herself out of our room and asked me if she could borrow my key.  I was going out to dinner with my parents and she was supposed to be going right back up to our room, so I gave it to her.  Of course she wasn’t there when we got back, so I had to go down and get one of the RAs to open the room for me.  He was sooo hot, too.  When he opened the door, he looked right at me and said, “you know, if you can’t even remember your key on the first day, maybe you shouldn’t BE here.” I wanted to die.  I was too embarrassed to tell him the situation, and I figured it wouldn’t have mattered.  My parents left and I think I cried for about an hour, just feeling like maybe he was right!

Four years later, I had made friends with that hot guy, had lived with that roommate for two years, was head of the literary magazine, and made some great friends that I still talk to (I’ve been out of college for...um, a while now).  And I never got locked out of my room again.

Just give it some time, P.  Try it for a semester and see what happens.  I promise that you will find out things about yourself that you will love--and if you pack up and come home, you’ll never discover them.

P- Hang in there.  Everyone has horrible freshman memories, but they are outshined by all the great ones!  I thought I was SO cool casue I tested out of freshman english.  Then I found myself in a class with an old boyfriend (who was a few years older) and 2 of his friends.  It was SO uncomfortable.  I think I got lost every single day on campus.  And I thought spirit week was the first week of Oct (it was the second) and showed up with a faux-hawk for Wild hair day Monday (on the wrong Monday).  And yes, I did have to endure the horrible english class, with the ex and with my fabulous hair!

Picture it.  Freshman year.  Arkansas State University.  First day of class.  My best friend and I were roommates in the dorms, and we had spent our first night there.  The day before, we were big big dorks and went and found all of our classrooms so we wouldn’t get lost.  We tried to prepare as best we could.  And, because of that, everything went smoothly.  Toward the end of the day, my roommate had to go to work and I was going to go stand in the long long financial aid line to try to get some money.  We said our goodbyes and parted.  After about 15 min in line (and really, not getting any closer to the front), my friend called me in tears.  She had parked in the corner of the parking lot, and someone had illegally parallel parked behind her!!  She was a nervous wreck and couldn’t get out.  So, I left the line and trekked across campus to the dorm parking lot to help her out.  Luckily, she drove a big truck, so she could wiggle around and drive up on the curb to get out...but bless her heart, she was just so stressed out over it and was in tears.

I have many more stories where that came from, but I’m not going to writea book here.  The first few days are super stressful, even when you are going to school 20 min away from home!  I can’t even imagine how it would be in a completely different country.  P, you are a brave one, and because of that, I know this is going to be great for you.  I hope you don’t have to deal with parking, because, honestly, that is the worst part about going to a more rural American college!!!  Hang in there and be super proud of yourself for choosing this great adventure!

P - You have the GREATEST big sis in the ENTIRE world!
My first college experience, I moved in with my grandparents so I could live for free while going to university.  I HATED it.  Truthfully, I only made it through a semester before I left.  So many people told me I was making a mistake my leaving, but I truly KNEW it was best for me.  I’m glad I made it through the semester, I really wanted to leave 4 weeks in. 
I know, Brittny, that’s not what you want me to tell P.  It’s not the best advice is it?  When things get though - leave.  Ha. 
Going through that experience made me so much stronger.  Five weeks after moving home, I packed up everything and moved to an even bigger city where I knew NO ONE and had no family.  If I hadn’t gone through the first experience, I wouldn’t have been able to move to Calgary (where I am now) put myself through school, and having the amazing job and husband that I now have.
You’re stronger than I am for selecting a college in a different country, P.  From everything Brittny’s told us about you, you’re a strong, amazing, worldly woman.  These first few weeks ARE going to be tough - but it’s the trials that make us stronger.  When we grow closer to God so He can truly carry us through.
Let us know how your first week goes
xoxo

Hi P!! Unfortunately I can’t give advice on what it is like to go away to college and not know anyone. I went to a state school only two hours away from home and there were a ton of familiar faces around me. However, I have moved 7 times in my life and starting over those 7 times was indeed hard. However, like all hard things, with time, patience, and persistance, it does get easier and you start to find your groove. The best advice I have for you, is think about why you choose the school you did. What experiences were you hoping to have, the people you were hoping to meet, and the studies you wanted to have. Thinking about these things may help put things into prespective for you. The first semester/quarter is always the toughest. Keep in mind that you are not the only one who is probably feeling these same feelings. I am betting there are other freshman who are questioning what the heck they are doing!!! Even if they live in that country. Not to be flippant about the situation, but do give it the old college try...join some groups whether they are academic or social and give yourself a chance to put yourself out there. If you try and you are still not happy, then that is okay too but at least you know you tried.

Hang in there!!

Oh, P! I was so miserable for the first few weeks away at school, and I was only in NC. I was lonely and so self-conscious all the time, but mostly I felt like such a loser because for two years, all I had wanted to do was GET AWAY and all of a sudden, I was away and I just wanted to go home.

It didn’t help I lived in an all-girl dorm with a lunatic for a roommate (I didn’t live with the Swiss Miss freshman year). Freshman year I lived with a girl who had a new guy in the room every weekend and had no inhibitions about nudity. I can’t tell you how many times I woke up to a naked Nicole standing in front of me going, “Trish, look at my body. Right now I’m happy with the way my body looks.” One weekend I came home and thought there had been a deadly massacre in our room. Turns out she’d just smeared Beef-a-Roni all over the walls because she couldn’t find any paper towels. Her dirty clothes were everywhere, left in little piles where she’d peeled them off her body and just let them drop. After a few weeks, I started to find my panties in her piles of dirty clothes, because she’d run out of her own underwear, so she started to wear mine. She was a clubber and was out to all hours dancing. Dancing and sweating into her fake-leather pants. The pants made the most horrendous squealing noise when she tried to pry them off of her body at 3 AM - it woke me up every Thursday night.

But you know what? She was the funniest, goofiest girl ever and I met a million people because of her. I thought for sure I was going to hate her, but she really forced me to plunge into campus life.

It will get better. You’ll meet amazing people and form great friendships and you’ll learn SO MUCH! And not just school stuff. Life stuff. It’ll be great - hang in there. Be safe and have fun!