Adjusting at Home

Jacob Sutton
Dr. Mirskin


I vividly remember the days leading up to my new beginning.  It was certainly a surreal experience.  My mom, dad, brother and I had spent the last two weeks of summer soaking up the little time we had left with each other in Cape Cod (a family vacation we take every year).  The first week in Cape Cod was completely normal; we would go to the beach practically everyday and spend hours trying to catch the biggest waves we could find.  I would hike down the steep rocks to Higgins Pond that my dad and I would swim across.  I was in heaven. And all of a sudden it was my second week in Cape Cod.  

Now, this may already sound dramatic.  Maybe I'm making my first blog post too over the top (if I am then bare with me).  As someone who has struggled with anxiety for almost as long as I can remember, just thinking about starting anew was absolutely terrifying.  College is just like starting high school, in a sense.  You're making new friends and taking harder classes.  Everyone is just trying to fit in and find their niche.  So it's pretty similar, right?  Except for the fact that this is the first time you're living away from home.  No one telling you what to do, how to eat, nagging at you to do your work and go to bed.  In a way, college gives you all the freedom in the world.  But for me, that was the scary part.  I've always been so used to coming home and venting to my parents about the obstacles I was encountering.  I was always used to my parents being my biggest support system.  Just like so many other college students, I had been used to living in my own bubble.  Now, I would have to be my biggest support system.  I would have to rely on myself.  My mind was racing with those thoughts the second week in Cape Cod. 

But as scary as it sounded, adjusting to college life wasn't been as difficult as I had been anticipating.  I was fearful that I wouldn't make friends, that I wouldn't find "my people".  Luckily, I was wrong.  It took a little while, but I'm slowly beginning to come across people who I genuinely connect with.  I was also a nervous wreck, thinking that maybe I just wasn't as serious a musician as everyone else in the Whalen School of Music.  But to my surprise, I've been finding myself in a practice room every single day.  In fact, being around musicians all day has pushed me to work harder, practice longer, and become a better musician myself. 

Even though I've only been in college for a week and a half, I already feel like I've grown in so many ways.  During my second week in Cape Cod, I had my family by my side all the time, and I could turn to them for anything.  I was in my own bubble.  Now, I'm starting to become my own person.  It's scary, but I have learned more and more about myself each day, and I can not wait to see what is in store.  















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