BWW Blog: How Far I'll Go

My mom set a limit during my college decision process and that was that the farthest acceptable distance for her was ten hours away. I had auditioned for school outside of that jurisdiction but was not considering any of them in my decision process so I was not too worried about this constraint. It was somewhat funny when my new home, Ohio University, was almost exactly a ten hour drive from my little Georgia hometown. We still make jokes that I went as far away as my parents would allow. While going far away from home may seem preferable to some and scary to most, there are definite pros and cons to consider. I love my home (far) away from home and going to college far from anything familiar has been a truly life changing experience. Here are some things I learned.

The first thing that needs to be figured out is transportation. I cannot stress this enough. As I am writing this, I just finished my tedious drive to move back into college. Driving to school is always an option (unless you go abroad or something like that) but it is not always the most convenient. If you are going to primarily fly back and forth from school this affects many things from how much you can bring to move in, how often you go home, and if you can have a car on campus. I am at the distance where it is feasible for me to drive to move in/out but fly home for holidays and school breaks. Whatever you decide to do, figuring out your transportation situation is one of the first major things to do.

Something that personally worried me was losing touch with my friends and family back home by being so far from them. My best piece of advice for this is to prioritize finding a weekly time to get in touch and talk. My parents and I had a weekly Facetime call to catch up and I know my friends back home were always up for a short call in between classes or virtual study dates. Especially due to COVID, many of us have gotten more used to connecting virtually and I promise if you make sure to have time for your people back home you won't lose touch. These relationships can thrive despite the distance, and it will make your reunion all the better.

There is nothing wrong with going to college close to home in the same way that there is nothing wrong with going far away. The thing I want to leave you with is that choosing the college that is right for you is a decision that involves both taking the distance into account and stepping outside of your comfort zone. If you are a homebody who falls in love with a school far away, seriously sitting with yourself and deciding if you can reconcile the distance is important. A school can be wrong for you simply because it is too far away, or it could be right for you regardless of the distance. I found my new home in an environment very different from the place I grew up and it has been the best learning experience of my life. "Far away" is relative, and my two homes feel incredibly close in my heart.

To post a comment, you must register and login.