Eight months ago, I stuffed all of my belongings into the back of the family Suburban and left my home to go to college. Now, nearing the end of my freshman year, I'm almost ready to do it all again to go back home. However, this time, I can't help but notice a few differences in myself from the person I was in late August.

I remember that when my parents dropped me off and my mom shed a tear or two, I rolled my eyes and thought to myself, "C'mon mom, I'm your fourth kid going to college, and you're still doing this?"

I was a little bit terrified to be living on my own for the first time in my life. I even remember taking a map of the campus because I didn't want to get lost going from my dorm to a place called "Jesse Phillips Humanities Center," whatever that was. What I didn't know was how easy it was going to be to adapt to this place.

I mean sure, you could say that of any freshman going to a new college.

But UD is more than just another college; it's a "community." Yes, I know that word gets thrown around enough to drive a person to insanity. It's true that not many universities have such a high percentage of students living on campus. Yes, the size is considered by many of us to be perfect, and the fact that everything is centrally located inspires "community."

But it's the little things that define that whole "community" theme and make it so easy to be here. The friends I've made here are truly wonderful people. Again, you could say that about a lot of places, but I think that UD's size allows you to make more friends that are close and ones you will keep for life - friends that will join you to dress in crazy clothing, blast Basshunter and run to every floor in Meyer screaming "RAVE!" just because someone was dumb enough to come up with the idea.

That's why I'm not surprised when my friends here have my back 99 percent of the time and are willing to go the extra mile to help me finish the same assignment that they've already finished, or get up early to eat breakfast with my family when they visit.  

In finals week this winter, I was in full procrastination mode, and I spent most of my time watching "How I Met Your Mother" episodes online while my smarter friends buckled down to study. When I finally did get my act together to start studying, even though they had done their work and were taking a break, they waited for me to finish so I could watch the episodes with them. The people here are more than just fellow students; they are family.

The dining experience makes it for me, too. The workers in the cafeteria that always smile and pay me a compliment or wish me a good day make it feel like more than a school cafeteria. The massive lights on Stuart Field look so cool at night that I could sit up on the hill for hours watching games and avoiding homework.

Even just watching everyone on my floor come together with so much spirit for our basketball teams made them more like brothers than other students on campus. It all comes together to make students fit in and feel connected, and that's a truly good thing.

 

I think back to before when I was looking at the UD brochures. All the students pictured had huge smiles on their faces and looked like they were right where they needed to be. And I thought that it was just because we advertise really well and have some really funny photographers. But now I know why; they're smiling because they're at home, and they're happy.