• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » I Go to College Across the Street from my House
Life

I Go to College Across the Street from my House

Facebook Tweet
bridge walking
Lucy Ellman   June 29, 2017

On a broiling August day two years ago, I helped my parents cram my belongings into the backseat of our Toyota, said a tearful goodbye to my dog Gracie and set out on the road to college. We left the house at 8:57 a.m. I pulled up in front of my dorm at 9:01 a.m. It was quite the commute.

In case you couldn’t already tell, I go to college in my hometown. While my mother’s house is a lengthy four-minute drive from my dorm (five minutes with traffic), my father lives directly across the street from campus. As you can see, I really decided to step out of my comfort zone with this whole college thing.

I won’t lie; going to school in your hometown isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s wonderfully convenient, like when you run out of toothpaste and can walk across the street to steal some from your dad’s medicine cabinet. Or when you forget something on campus over break. Instead of wallowing in your forgetfulness, you can drop by your dorm the next day to pick up your charger before your laptop drops below 10 percent. You’re also a human GPS, and knew the fastest route to Target 10 years before anyone else in your graduating class.

Other times, it can be a bit wearisome. There are the constant comments such as, “you don’t know about this hole in the wall dive bar with an excellent music scene? I thought you lived here.” Guys, I’m exactly your age. I wasn’t doing cool things in high school. Instead, I was spending all of my hard earned cash on tickets to the expensive movie theater and drinking too many chocolate milkshakes at my local diner. Seventeen-year-old me was not exactly “hip.”

I can brush off the teasing, but other things aren’t so easy to shake. I’m constantly on the lookout for people I know. Also, awkward interactions with family friends or neighbors at the supermarket are a common occurrence. It’s like I’m stuck between two worlds. There is the college me, attempting to strike out on her own, and another past self who comes out on nights in town and monthly trips to the mall. Sometimes the worlds collide, and I’m left somewhere in the middle.

I have a few ways of dealing with this, but basically I set boundaries. For one, I don’t let myself go home except on breaks. My friends who live somewhat nearby occasionally go home for a weekend after a particularly rough few days or weeks. Not me. I pretend I am eons away, somewhere like Timbuktu or Santa Monica. I also talk to my parents a lot less than many of my friends (sorry, mom). It’s like I’m removing a safety net. Because I’m missing the physical separation that other students have, I try to make up for it by doing all that I can to be independent. It’s my way of attempting to actually become an adult, rather than just play one for a few months at a time while at school.


trending

409

10 Student Organizations Breaking the Mold at Berkeley

179

Top 10 Spots Around Emerson College to Get Inspired

156

Top 10 Ways to Spot a UT Austin Alum


But even with the rules I make for myself, it’s hard to accept that I am not always getting the same experience as many of my classmates. College is the place where you can start fresh. You are thrown into a strange new environment that you must navigate all on your own, and learn more about yourself in the process. It may be difficult, but you inevitably grow.

Yet, recently I have begun to think about my time at school a bit differently. Wandering around campus when class isn’t in session feels like an entirely different world. The bench you once occupied at 2 a.m. while spilling your heart out to a friend is not the same on a Tuesday afternoon in July. It’s the people, not the place that makes the “college experience.” I’ve made amazing friends from around the world that wound up at this tiny liberal arts school in upstate New York. We’re all a bunch of weirdos. I just have have a slightly shorter commute. It is by no means perfect, but it’s pretty good.

And hey, next year I’m going abroad and none of this will matter. I better remember to pack some toothpaste.

About Lucy Ellman

Lucy is a junior at Vassar College studying media studies and political science. She is a casual cellist in possession of a brain overstuffed with film trivia. Considers herself a Lucille Ball wannabe.

What I Wish I Had Known About Mental Health So I Wouldn’t Have to Call Myself a College Dropout

Ant-Man Opens the Doors for Marvel’s New Phase

10 Boba Tea Spots for Houston College Students

10 Ways to Have Fun with Your Friends Indoors

Do You Actually Care, Or Do You Want to Look Like You Do?

unsplash.com

Top Ten Inspirational Quotes from Your Favorite Sports TV Shows

I lived with my three best friends. Here’s how it went.

21 Things to Do in Williamsburg When You’re Under 21

The Beauty and Pain of Living Alone

Previous Post:Why Student Travel Looks Good on Your Resume
Next Post:The 10 Best College Dance Teams in the Nation

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding