im scared to leave home...

its July and its really hitting me that i will be leaving home to go to college. its about a 7 1/2 hour drive - a few states away. its so far ???

I’ve already accepted everything so i feel like its too late to back out now. the college that i will be attending has been my dream school for a while but i never really thought about the distance. its also considered to be pretty good since its ranked top 30 (us news ranking). although it is a private school, i will only be paying about 10k a year (basically housing).

there are some moments where i am excited to go but i always catch myself getting sad and not wanting to think about leaving cause its so far. i still haven’t even bought any dorm stuff cause of this.

now i feel like i should’ve chosen a school that was max 3 hours and not 6 hours+ away

im really disappointed in myself. ive convinced everyone in my family that i really wanted to go and now here i am feeling really sad. it was around April (when i made my decision) when I began to feel nervous/scared about going far but i tried to brush that aside. but now its July and its REALLY hitting me.

idk what to do. i mean, i guess its too late now since ill be moving in a little over a month. ill be coming home in November for thanksgiving break and staying for December (corona) so i guess thats something to look forward to. what also helps is knowing that a lot of kids that are attending that college are also from NJ (where im at). also, i know a couple of kids in my grade that will be leaving to FL, NC, GA, PA (6 hours), IN. that helps - two of my closest friends are gonna be 10 hours and 6 hours away.

sigh.

First of all, take a deep breath. Your feelings and doubts are completely normal! Everyone feels this way at first. My D certainly does and she is going to be only 3 hours from home. It is hitting her especially hard because she turned 18 yesterday and it is sinking in that she is really leaving. It is bittersweet but you and your family have been working toward this for your whole life and you can do it! Trust me, they will miss you as much as you miss them.

I think the silver lining is with the whole corona thing, all students will be in the same boat - no parent visits, no going home for a quick weekend - but the time away will be a bit shorter for the first go around. Take advantage of the resources offered by your school. They have lots of experience helping students transition to being away from home and they see the same issues every year. Use the opportunity to connect with your new classmates because chances are, they will feel just nervous out there as you do. Above all, try and enjoy this time because it only happens once.

@helpingmom40 thank you <3

My pleasure! Now go pick out something cool for your new room ?

Have you connected with roommates yet? That will help draw you into your new environment.

First of all, congratualtion!

Second - welcome to pre-college jitters and regrets.

Of course you feel like that - you are leaving home. It is normal, and it would be strange if you weren’t feeling this way.

Because of COVID 19, it really wouldn’t matter of you were 3 or 2 or 1 hour away from home. You would need to stay from August to November straight, so the distance to your home is not important.

My kid just finished her first year about 10 hours away (12 hours away from where she grew up. It also hit her around July that she was leaving her home and her friends. However, she found that she LOVED it there. Even though she grew up on the outskirts of a big city, and the college is in a very rural area, the crowd is very different from the people with whom she grew up, and she has never shared a room.

What I’m saying is that not only will it work out, but a year from now, you will likely be absolutely in love with your school, and will not be able to think of any other place where you would prefer to be.

Will you be attending a small or large college?

Everyone is scared to leave home. The way you are feeling is completely normal. You will be ok. You can do this. As you get started just take it one day at a time. You will have days you will cry, days everything will be fine, and days everything will be fantastic. Just remember that it is all normal.

You can do this. Remember with technology nobody is far away any longer. You’ve got this! Congratulations! Be strong, be brave, and go get 'em!

Totally understandable. Severing the umbilical cord is a part of life. Life is a series of these experiences that make you confident that you can handle anything thrown your way. Those who are unable to do so never grow themselves in the end. You will be fine. Just take the plunge and try to enjoy the ride (and your personal growth).