Our home away from home for the next four years was right in front of our faces as we pulled into Cabrini College.
New faces, unpacked cars and frantic parents were all we could see. Not sure what to expect, we held our breaths as we walked to the registration table to join the class of 2014.
Seeing upperclassmen with “Move-In” shirts and a smile was a relief as they kindly grabbed our bags without even asking. Walking from table to table to get all our new Cabrini gear made the move-in process more real.
Getting settled in and awkwardly talking to our new roommates was an overwhelming and frightening experience, soley because we knew our living space would be shared for the next year.
A million questions ran through our minds, such as “Are we going to get along?,” or “Can I borrow her clothes?” It will take us a while to get used to sharing a bathroom with total strangers, along with carting around a basket primarially designed for toiletries.
The anticipation of meeting new friends came faster than we thought when we were split into our groups and meeting our orientation leaders for the first time. Meeting our OL’stook a weight off our shoulders, knowing they would be there for us for the whole weekend.
Every second of our weekend was booked with planned events, so missing home never crossed our minds. Little did we know that the people surrounding us would be taking the same journey as us. It was nice to know that every event we went to, our orientation group was coming with us.
Seeing all of the excited faces displayed by the upperclassmen as we ran into the gym made us feel more comfortable in our new environment. We were laughing with total strangers while we played silly games, helping ease our nerves and relax.
Any concerns sleeping in a new bed didn’t even cross our minds because of our exhaustion from our day. Whoever was bold enough to hear the haunted stories about Cabrini and go through the tour of the mansion knew it was an event not to be missed. Unconsciously grabbing onto people you didn’t know showed how close the school is even if you were a freshman.
The skits they performed for us were informative but in a way to make us laugh.
All the time and effort showed how much fun they had the week before. It made us want to be more involved in the year ahead. The comfort of knowing the orientation leaders wanted to eat every meal with us showed how dedicated they were to making us feel at home.
Being separated into groups to get a tour of Wayne showed where we would be spending most of our time. Walking past a million stores in the King of Prussia Mall, we knew we would be penniless by the time we came home for Thanksgiving break.
The chaos during the bus ride and the constant chatter made us feel that we knew these people for longer than three days. Exchanging email and contact information made us feel like we weren’t the only people struggling to meet new people.
As the weekend was coming to a close, we knew college wasn’t all fun and games. We knew our first night of pulling all-nighters was coming closer than we thought. Like a typical freshman we were worried about our schedule, our books and waking up on time for class in the morning.
We would’ve never thought that the library would soon become our new best friend, when in high school we didn’t even know where the library was.
Searching for places to go and people to meet will still be on our minds as new weekends approach. Even though we still get homesick almost everyday, we know that each day will get better. After doing all the activities, we never would’ve thought that they would help us be more confident walking through the Cabrini campus.
