Well, after what seems to be the longest few days in recent memory, my first week here at Plattsburgh State is finally coming to a close. At the time of this writing I will have been living in Macomb Hall for nearly six days now but, it seems longer. In order to properly describe my feelings about this new place though, I feel it is necessary to describe a bit about where I came from.
I am a 19-year-old digital media production major, and prior to my coming here, I lived in a little slice of Western New York named Linden. I had been up this way a couple times over the summer for a campus tour and then orientation in July. After a 7-hour trip up here from my hometown, I finally arrived last Saturday. After getting settled in and unpacked, the transition into college life began.
Now if you had asked any other college student at any other campus, they likely would have told you that their first feelings upon moving in were fear and nervousness, their minds immersed in stress or concern for whether or not they’d make it in this new environment academically and socially.
Of course in all of this time I did feel awkward about leaving home and knew that there would be times wherein I would miss my mother, father, sister, and three dogs (and trust me there were moments like that this week), but for better or worse what little apprehension I felt was quickly overshadowed by what I experienced this week. As I got familiar with the facilities and began attending my classes over the week, the level of happiness and comfort I found with my surroundings was something I did not expect to feel until weeks into the semester. Yet in spite of that, it came over me and has yet to dissipate.
For reasons that I admittedly do not fully grasp myself, these feelings seemed to be non-existent within me the day I moved in. Perhaps it was the welcoming nature of the R.A.s and assorted staff of the college, my head buzzing with new ideas, or my excitement to meet and interact with new people. Whatever the reason, I felt completely at ease arriving at Plattsburgh.
In some ways it was sort of shocking just how quickly I started to meet and join new groups of people, not to mention the opportunities that came as a result. A mere six days into my first semester and already I have been invited to groups within my major as well as joined the Cardinal Points team to write articles like this one. I have also been given the chance to join the Hall Council in Macomb and serve in the public relations position.
While I have yet to be officially elected into said position, the sheer fact that I have been offered a place at the table my very first semester here only says yards to how friendly people are here on campus.
My first round of classes feels like a great introduction into the world of my major, and actually having the tools, ability and the Wi-Fi to be able to accomplish everything that I need to is an incredibly satisfying feeling, especially for one who has lived in a very small and (as I’m sure my family would agree) technologically suppressed area of Western New York.
My professors have all been great and have shown nothing but pure desire to help us in our futures and confidence in us to be able to shine in class. The stellar dining on campus and comfortably modern feel of the entire college was another major draw for me and helped me feel at ease.
Will every experience I have be a positive one? Will there be moments where I feel beaten and worn down? Will I miss things about home that I act like I don’t miss now? The realistic answer to all of these questions is yes, but these first few days on campus have shown me many times that I and everyone else in the same situation don’t have to feel alone.
I love where I come from and there will be times that I will miss things there, but even when that gets to be its worst, not only can I take solace in the fact that it won’t be long before I see my family again but the fact that I already have a new one here at PSUC.
Email Ian Lawson at ian.lawson@cardinalpointsonline.com
