Leonardo D.

Sage
1/22/13
ENG 1101
Inscoe

The Longest Week: A Personal Narrative

If anyone’s ever told you that the first day is the easiest, then it has either been too long

ago for them to remember, or they’re just lying through their teeth. Checking out the freshman

dorm you’ll spend your first year of college in is one thing when you’re there with your parents,

but it’s an entirely different thing when it finally sinks in that when they leave to go home, they

don’t take you with them. I remember it being dark out. It was in the late evening when

orientation at Georgia Southern University ended for freshman students and it was time to move

into our new lodgings. My folks and I had already dropped all my stuff off earlier that day and

all that was left was to say a prayer and say goodbye. My assigned roommate wouldn’t arrive

until tomorrow, so I was spending my first night by myself. Alone, in an unfamiliar environment,

and with not a familiar face in sight, I feel no shame at all in admitting that I cried a little bit that

evening. The fact that there were no other students on my wing of the floor that night didn’t help

matters either; I could practically hear the silence. The ‘creepy’ factor of practically being the

only guy on my floor made it even worse. Thinking back, maybe I was just one of the special

cases; one of those students who actually get along great with their parents and love where they

come from that made such a big change difficult to deal with. Almost everyone else I’d met

seemed to welcome the change with open arms. Whatever the case, my first day was fine. It was

the first night that sucked.

It wasn’t until day 2 that things started actually picking up as my neighbors started

showing up and moving into their rooms. I came back from my first day of classes to find that

my roommate Shane had arrived as well. Actually, it’s a mistake to call that day 2. For me, it
Leonardo D. Sage
1/22/13
ENG 1101
Inscoe

was actually day 1 since classes had begun that day. But anyway, in a setting like that, human

contact makes all the difference. Shane and I had contacted each other through Facebook prior to

moving in, so we were already a little familiar with each other and we became friends quickly

down the line. I found that Shane had been the popular kid in high school, advocated by how

quickly he seemed to make friends once people on our floor got around to meeting and greeting.

He was usually the first one to make contact with any of our neighbors and start to hang out with

them and, though that makes me sound like a bit of a wallflower, it’s actually thanks to Shane

that I was able to make as many friends as I did. I’d often been accused of being something of a

recluse, and while not entirely untrue, using Shane as a social ‘buffer’ really helped me break out

of my shell those first couple of months.

Make no mistake! The social scene was worlds easier to manage than the academics. The

culture shock of taking college courses with a high school mentality really took its toll my first

year. Having to get used to the way things worked with the course load I had was easier said than

done. GSU has a huge campus, so having to find my way around was an experience in itself. I

did, however, find it kind of cool having to use my bicycle to get around campus. It made things

much, much easier and was a lot more reliable than walking; even on the rainy days. Classes

were pretty basic. I started out what I’d been advised to with my program of study. Though they

had more official sounding titles, they were essentially math, science, history, and English.

Coupled with the high school mentality I mentioned earlier, it gave me the false impression that

college academics were just a tougher version of what I’d already been through. I discovered

quickly just how much of an understatement that really was. With my newly discovered freedom

and a slew of bad influences I came to call friends, there were distractions aplenty. I gravely

underestimated just how early 8 AM really was until college, and my 8 AM Algebra class had no
Leonardo D. Sage
1/22/13
ENG 1101
Inscoe

qualms reminding me. Studying is one thing, but going to bed and waking up on time is

something completely different. Spoiler alert: My first semester at GSU, I failed Algebra.

To be honest, I was way more focused on the actual ‘life’ part of college life rather than

the ‘college’ part. I found it to be more about survival than anything else; doing my best to stay

afloat amidst all the chaos that comes with being on one’s own for the first time ever. Going to

classes, hanging out with my friends, making sure I eat right, and getting some exercise every

now and again, the separation from the life I knew back home got a lot easier as the ball got

rolling. I went from calling home almost every day to calling maybe once a week. It eventually

got to the point where, more often than not, my parents would end up being the ones to call after

a while. But in hindsight, a ten minute phone call proved a bit less daunting than the 3 hour drive

home from Statesboro to Lilburn. Now that I think about it, my entire first year of college in

general seemed to help me understand what kind of person I was and affirm what kind of person

I’d be later on. It’s embarrassing, but when all was said and done, my grades weren’t at all up to

scratch and I ended up transferring out that summer. It was totally worth it though, as I learned a

lot about myself, about people, relationships, and the real world. That isn’t to say there aren’t

things I wouldn’t do differently if I had a chance, but there’s not a lot I regret either. And in that

regard, college can be quite a lot like high school. There’s just less acne and more ramen

noodles.