<p>I am a freshman at Penn State University Park right now, and I would say I<code>m having a pretty decent time there, but there have been times I wish I went somewhere else. Being from a big high school in PA, there are so many kids that go to PSU as well, and although I get along with them, I feel like its holding me back from meeting others, and I feel almost like an obligation to hang out with them. I feel like I</code>m almost in the 13th grade, and I was never really given a good chance to really do something brand new because there are always those people around that Ive already known for years. Also, everyone I seem to meet is from the same area as me. And although its pretty cool in ways, the fact that they know people I know and know everything about where I<code>m from gets old. I dont feel like I even got away, if you get what I</code>m saying, and thats what I was hoping college would be more like. Another thing is the weather. Now that its starting to get cold again, I forgot how much I hate the winter and the cold. The first few months were awesome, but now the majority of the school year Im going to be walking to class in the freezing cold and probably not going out as much.There are just times where Im sitting in my room and wondering what it would have been like if I would have just gone farther away, started over and be able to do my own thing. Idk if these are good enough reasons to leave a college, especially when this is probably a better school than other places I would go, but there are just times when its really frustrating and I feel like I`m missing out on a once in a lifetime experience. maybe its too soon to be judging but idk. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Penn State is a large university.....there are students from all over there. Quite a few of my son's friends are there and we are from NY, so there are lots of other kids to meet. Try and get involved in the school community by joining activities that interest you. Move out of your comfort zone and make an effort to befriend those you don't know in your classes or dorm. It might be that all of your HS friends are sticking together initially because there is comfort in the familiar. I bet as time goes on they, too, will want to branch out and make new friends as well.</p>
<p>I really think Penn State is going to be what you make of it. It is going to be cold at any school during the winter if you stay in the northern part of the country. It's always going to a cold winter in Happy Valley. As for people, it is really easy to branch out at Penn State. There are so many clubs and intramural sports teams to get involved with that I feel like you have to make an effort to not meet new people. You will always see people around that you know, but if you join a new organization you will only really be saying hello to these old friends in passing around campus. I recommend intramural softball/flag football/soccer. These are all great places to find large teams full of people from all over. I don't really know your interests, but I am sure Penn State has a club for it. I believe there are over 500 clubs. Anyway, it has not been a full semester yet. I really would give it an honest effort the rest of the year. You can always just send out transfer applications just in case it doesn't turn around, but I bet it will.</p>