• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • 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
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • 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
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

You are here: Home / Graduation / Senior in College to Freshman in Adulthood

Senior in College to Freshman in Adulthood

May 2, 2016 //  by Nicole Koehler

Shares7FacebookTweet

Rewind to my first day in college. I remember feeling unsure of this major transition in my life, from small high school senior to smaller college freshman. From a high school senior, the big kahuna on campus, to unimportant freshman in college. This new scene tied my stomach in knots, making me a nervous wreck. No more could I depend on coming home on laundry day to find that my parents folded my clothes and left them on my bed. Gone were the days could I come home to my mom’s warm and delicious home cooked meals. I fell victim to piles of wrinkled clothes and dining hall dinners. College proved itself as new lands for me, and I wasn’t sure what to do first. How could I make my new stomping grounds “home”?

The new surroundings forced me to adjust and find my own place, but that place wouldn’t appear right away. I had to take the plunge and join different clubs on campus. Each of them progressively immersed me into the Torero lifestyle of sandals, beach days and acai bowls. College also had the tendency to change nerds to frat bros, jocks to scholars, loners to student body presidents and me from introvert to over-the-top involved extrovert.

The transformation started the first time I went to Olé Fest and saw the behind the scenes work of Associated Students and the Torero Program Board. At that moment, I fell in love with the diversity and unity within the University of San Diego, and I wanted to be even more involved on campus. So, as soon as Alcala Bazaar, our student organization fair, came I signed up for everything from French Club, Outdoor Adventures, International Students Organization and the American Marketing Association. After a four years at USD, I’m a part of the exec board for my Marketing Club and part of Associated Students Communications board.

Now, with only a few weeks until graduation, I’m not hesitant to say I’m back to square one. I’m back in the mind set of a little freshman who’s frightened about what comes next. I’m afraid to leave my Torero family behind. After all, my friends extend beyond the senior class; I fostered great relationships with underclassmen, advisors, teachers and faculty during my time at USD, so I admit I have that gut wrenching sadness when “Graduation (Friends Forever)” by Vitamin C plays on the radio.

Though I’m leaving behind more than I started with, I’m excited to take the next step (or should I say flight) towards my dream job. This summer I’m interning in Dublin, Ireland with Global Experience, but with every leap there is a tumble. Just after figuring out how to “college,” I must readjust to a whole new way of life, “adulting.” I’m back at square one, a little fish in a big pond. In college, I only had to adjust to new people and a new city; but Dublin has me taking an 11-hour flight around the world, learning a new lifestyle, eating different food and being an eight-hours ahead of from my friends and family.

College taught me so much about who I am and what I can do, and I’ll carry that with me throughout the rest of my life, especially as I travel into my new adventure interning abroad. Despite being tossed into a new country, I can only think of the positive things: getting the opportunity to network with international companies, immersing myself in a new culture and meeting other students who feel the same nerves as I do. So what if I’m a little nervous? I’d rather be learning a new language in Ireland than stuck in the California I’ve known my whole life.

Moving forward after college and starting from scratch gives us the opportunity to find ourselves all over again—except this time we carry along all college taught us. We won’t be naïve little freshman searching for classes. We’ll be fresh, young adults who solve our own problems. So, to my fellow graduating seniors, don’t be scared to take the risk of starting over in the unknown. If we could do it at 18, we can do it again at 22.

Shares7FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Graduation Life

About Nicole Koehler

Nikki is a Senior at the University of San Diego and is a double-major in International Business and Marketing with a minor in English. She loves listening to music, reading and people watching. Her love for traveling drives her dream to someday live in the UK and see the world.

You May Also Like

The Ultimate Auburn University Bucket List: 21 Things to Do Before Graduating

pensive

Tackling the Beast After 2020: Applying to Graduate School

graduates throwing caps

How College Seniors Cope with COVID-19

Graduation

Confessions of a 2020 Graduate: This Year Was Not Kind To Us

COVID 19

The Loss of Our Last Semester: Seniors on COVID-19

graduation

10 Signs You Suffer from a Bad Case of Senioritis

college students

Top 10 SMART Goals to Kickstart Success in College

10 Pre-Graduation Struggles All Seniors Know Too Well

graduating at the university of florida

10 Essential Steps Before Graduating at the University of Florida

graduating early

I Graduated in Three Years, But Not Without Mishaps

what to wear to graduation

What to Wear to Graduation to Upstage Even Your Gown

10 Ways to Beat the Graduation Blues

How to Survive Senior Year With a Serious Case of Senioritis

afraid future

It’s OK to Be Afraid

positive college

Staying Positive in College is Possible

indiana university graduation

Everything Comes to an End, Even Your Glory Days

man standing on rock what is a gap year?

10 Advantages of Taking a Gap Year When You’re Unsure of Your Life

graduates throwing caps

10 Ways to Finish off Your Senior Year the True Boston College Way

plans after graduation

I Got Into College, Now What?

I’m a Senior Who Doesn’t Have It All Figured Out

I Graduated in the Spring and I Still Don’t Know What I’m Doing

graduation gifts for her gilmore girls

15 Graduation Gifts for Her to Achieve Post-Grad Perfection

high school musical 2 summer songs

10 Feel-Good Summer Songs to Strut Out of the Semester

It’s The End of Junior Year And I’m Still Lost

Previous Post: « The Ultimate Guide to Freshman Year of College
Next Post: CM’s Guide to the Economics Major »

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

102

10 St. John’s University Finals Activities to Help You De-Stress

mental health
95

Pandemic and Academic Blues: Being Aware of Your Mental Health

36

Top 10 Colleges With the Most Fashionable Students

23

A Gator’s Bucket-List: 21 Things to Do Before Graduating From UF

Broadway
20

10 Musical Soundtracks to Make Study Sessions That Much Easier

Featured Chapter: St. John’s University

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

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
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

Copyright © 2021 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.