Homesickness, time management and juggling academics and extra circular activities is a challenge for almost every college student no matter what year you went to school in. Week four is wrapping up and I see some of these challenges surfacing. One of them is homesickness. Moving away from my home and family is really difficult. I miss seeing my parents and brothers’ everyday and going to school with all my best friends. Although I love it here at the University of Oregon I think it is normal to be homesick. Going from one place you lived in your whole life than all of a sudden moving to a completely new environment is hard at times. Other than missing people I also miss the surroundings. Hawaii has a lot of sunshine and beautiful beaches and that is not something Eugene has to offer. The great thing though is that Eugene is beautiful in a completely different way. The greenery and cold weather is so refreshing and the climate change is a nice adjustment I’ve had to make. The forest-like surrounding is different in a good way. One thing I am so happy Eugene has is seasons. Hawaii has one season the entire year and the fact that the leaves change color and fall is a season here is really exciting. I have never lived in a place with fall so I am really looking forward to next couple of months.
Other than being homesick another challenge I’ve had to face and still struggle with is juggling academics and extra circular activities. This university offers so much ranging from clubs to intramural sports and making time to study and have fun has been a real struggle. Of course I want to do good in school but sometimes I just want to go out, meet new people and do really fun things. There always seems to be meetings or activities going on such a game night in my dorm and it is very hard to say no. Juggling school and fun is hard but I think I’m becoming a little better now that midterms are happening and the homework load is increasing. Time management is another challenge I face but it is not too bad. I faced this challenge in high school so I am somewhat used to this struggle.
College so far is amazing but it can be difficult at times. My time so far at the University of Oregon has been nothing but positive. These challenges I am facing are just a minor bump in the road. There is always going to be challenges but facing them head on and dealing with them is going to make me an overall better person.