What it’s really like going to college in your hometown

I mean, it isn’t that bad, except I’m not exactly sure how to leave. I have been dreaming about moving to a big city, or any city away from Johnstown, PA after graduating from Pitt-Johnstown, but something tells me it will be harder than I think. Not only will I be leaving my family, friends, job, high school, and college behind, but I will also be leaving behind the only place I’ve ever known. Maybe I’m too comfortable here. Or maybe I’m stuck because I don’t know how to make that big step.

Imagine yourself, seventeen and applying to different colleges. I dreamed of going to Pitt Main, studying in the Cathedral of Learning everyday and being part of one of those crazy pre-Pitt football game parties. I had it all planned, live in one of those circular shaped dorms for a year and work for the Steelers by the time I was done with my first semester. Then, my parents told me they would “help” me with college if I stayed home.

Sure, I like help. Who doesn’t? And at first, I thought it was a great idea. Not until I saw all of my friends posting freshman orientation pictures at their universities did I realized how much I was missing out on. Yes, I’ve made friends at UPJ and have taken pictures, but it’s been mostly people who I would have met without school, like other commuters like me who live in Johnstown.

Then summer comes, I’m still in Johnstown doing internships here while everything related to my major and dream jobs are 100 miles away in Pittsburgh. Despite having a great experiences at home, enjoying seeing my dogs everyday, and taking advantage of being familiar with the best places to eat in town, I haven’t really lived.

I imagine if I would have gone to a different school, it would have opened my eyes for the world and the adult me I’m still dying to find. Half of the things about me I’m still indecisive about because I haven’t experimented with. Do I like to take the subway into town or drive? How much does an apartment cost? Can I afford them? If I would have moved away and gone to a college not in my hometown, I probably would know.

Now, 21, I’m about to graduate next year. I have to apply for graduate schools, and I’m tempted to go to online graduate school to avoid moving away for another year or two. I’m tempted to apply for jobs around home. I’m tempted to do all of this, not because I’m chasing those dreams of working for the Steelers, but because I don’t know how to move away from this place.