By Adrien Gobin
Editorial Staff
It’s been about two years since I decided to pack up my life and move 1,500 miles from everything I’ve ever known.
I always had dreams of moving away and getting out of my not-so-small town because I knew that if I didn’t, I was never going to. All my school counselors looked at me like I was crazy for wanting to leave and go that far away.
“Are you sure you want to leave?”
“That’s really far away.”
“You’re going to get homesick.”
“How could you be that far away from your friends and family?”
These are all of the things I heard from people when I told them I was leaving to go to college in another state.
In the back of my mind, I knew it was good for me. That it was what I needed in my life, and I was right.
It was a windy road to get to where I am now and to believe that I was right and made the right decision.
After my first semester at Framingham State, I was so close to packing up my stuff and going back home and accepting that all those people were right. I knew homesickness would happen, but I thought because I really wanted it would be easier for me.
In those first four months I had such a hard time adjusting to New England and the atmosphere of Framingham State itself.
I had a hard time fitting in, making friends, and adjusting to being completely independent so quickly.
As well as being from Florida I had never really experienced the concept of seasons such as winter and seasonal depression. It’s hard to tell now looking back on it what was really making me feel so unhappy.
I think it was a combination of all of the above.
No one talks about how much guilt you feel either. The guilt of trying to mend and maintain relationships from home while at the same time trying to create new ones and knowing that the people in your life are growing old and you’re not there to see it. This was the biggest one for me to overcome.
Before the spring semester of 2023 I had to decide whether to stay or to go. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and keep trying because I loved the campus and hoped it would get better and I’m glad I did.
I met some of my best friends, joined The Gatepost, and found a place I fit in. I found ways to cope with the weather and remembered that my family is just a phone call and plane ride away.
My grandma once told me, “That your home is where your heart feels most happy.”
Massachusetts became my home.
Moving away can sometimes feel selfish and honestly, it’s a weird feeling to explain and I don’t know if it ever gets easier to explain. I just know I saw more opportunity for myself outside of my hometown and so I took the jump and went for it.
I’ve pushed myself to do things I never thought I would do, things I’m grateful for and some things that I regret but that was just the process of learning and growing up for me.
I write to every student out there to say that change is scary and a fresh start is never easy, and trust me, it wasn’t easy either but these past two years I’ve learned so much about myself, the good, the bad and the ugly.
And just know that whether you decide to stay or to go it’s OK, you’re making the right decision, and it will all work out.