For freshman and sophomore year of college, I attended two different universities before I found my permanent home at Behrend. In those two years, I learned so much about myself – first and foremost, I hated living in a city. That being said ,sometimes I feel like I missed out on something by not staying at one university for all four years, but then I realize how much happier I am by deciding to transfer.

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Everyone has a preconceived notion of college, and the experiences you will have during those four years of taking classes, navigating parties, and creating lifelong memories. Having freshly graduated high school, you expect college to be everything you had ever hoped for and more. A great experience right off the bat will happen for some people; the college life just comes naturally. You’ll see people from high school make a bunch of friends at their respective colleges immediately and always look like they’re having a blast on Snapchat and Instagram. And then there’s you, sitting alone in your dorm room at a different university, wondering if you made the right decision. And it’s not just the fact that you are alone that makes you question your choice, maybe the classes aren’t what you thought, the major doesn’t feel right anymore, you hate the campus or a combination of things. All those issues add up until eventually, you decide that transferring schools might not be such a bad idea.

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While transferring schools was the best decision I have made thus far, it was still the most difficult decision I’ve ever made. Suddenly, you’re that kid that couldn’t make it work. You feel like you failed, not only yourself but also your parents. It’s hard to tell someone that something they are investing in isn’t what you want. I wasn’t happy, and I couldn’t go on at my old university. So, after making it through my first semester, I packed my bags and went home for the next one to attend community college while I researched my next step.

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Being a transfer student is the definition of feeling alone in a crowded room, only that room is an entire campus. It comes with a flurry of emotions: excitement, nervousness, sadness, happiness, and apprehension -  and other ones English doesn’t have words for but German definitely does. In a way, transferring is like a do-over; you gain new experiences, make new friends, and maybe change your major. But at the same time, you always feel a little left out. Everyone already knows everyone. They have made friendships and have the bond of grinding through freshman year together. You’ll never understand this particular campus’s freshman struggle, but you have your own unique freshman struggle that they won’t understand either. You also have to be the new kid more than once.

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When you first get to a new university, there are several things you should try to do to make your experience better than the first.  Figuring out the lingo like all the building names, what food is best, and fun places to hang out is one of the first steps. Everyone is talking about professors you do not know and classes you’ve never taken. Being observant and making mental notes can help in the first few months while learning about your new campus. Making friends can also be difficult when you feel like everyone has already found their group. You have to put yourself out there and meet people to make friends. Joining clubs and organizations is a great way to do this because those people often have similar interests as you. Even though it is hard, it might surprise you how easy it is to make friends once you break down that weird feeling of being “the new kid.” Lastly, creating a relationship with your professors is extremely important. They can point you to clubs and organizations you might like, make sure you are in the right classes, and offer you help when you need it. Being proactive is one of the most important things you can do when moving to a new school.

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College is so much more than just taking classes and eventually getting a degree. It is about making friendships and finding who you are. Transferring schools generally isn’t the goal when you first start out somewhere, but it’s nice to know that you can change your mind. Experiencing different universities and campuses helped me put some things into perspective. While I did not have the typical “freshman experience,” I still learned a lot about what I wanted out of my education and who I am as a person.