I really thought Temple wasn’t for me but now I love it here
I was that girl sitting in her dorm listening to Spotify’s Life Sucks playlist
If you asked me four months ago how I felt about being at college, you would have needed a couple of tissues for me. It wasn’t Temple that was cause of my sorrow, but it was because for the first time, I was alone.
Picture a girl sitting in her dorm crying her eyes out while listening to Spotify’s Life Sucks playlist. Yeah that was me and I was miserable with a case of homesickness. It’s funny since I claimed to not need anyone and loved being alone. Yet, I was there needing someone to venture out of campus with and experience what Philadelphia has to offer. Unfortunately I was very stubborn and refused to make new friends since I loved my friends at home. I literally had the mindset of “no new friends”.
North Philly was a foreign place to me. I had no idea what to expect when I came here. When I arrived at Temple, I came thinking that I was still “Gail, the Senior Class President.” I had it all at home and I was still stuck in high school. The first few weeks were tough as I cried probably twice a day about how much I missed home (mom’s cooking is better than the dining hall food), my friends and my comfy bed.
I refused to give Temple a chance and began to consider to transfer out after my first semester.
After my many visits back home, I recall one encounter with a girl on the train who was extremely passionate about Temple. As I was sitting there with my headphones in, not expecting anyone to talk to me, this girl sitting by me decided to start a conversation. She began to ask how I was liking Temple and how my first few weeks were going. You could already guess what my answer was at that time.
After I was done ranting about how much I loved my life before I arrived here, she told me the best advice that anyone could have given me at that time.
She told me: “You need to move on.”
It was like a hard breakup, but this time just a separation of my old life and a new life that I would have at Temple. The best part of this Dr. Phil session at the NJ Transit train ride was when she explained to me that she called herself an underdog here in this big city and how it was her home.
It reminded me who I was – the underdog. I remembered my roots and how one of my high school teachers told me that I would not get into Temple. I was motivated to prove my teacher wrong and I needed to prove someone else wrong: myself.
Thankfully, with the support from family and friends, I managed to survive these past few months by knowing they believed in me. Yes, there were days that were tough but those days didn’t last forever. My high school coach sent me a text message during my first weeks here and it served as the reminder that I could do it.
My first semester at Temple was an eye opener for sure. Those late nights cramming an essay before it’s due on Blackboard while eating Insomnia Cookies, while trying to not gain the Freshman 15 were stressful. Yes, I underestimated college in the beginning and thought it would be easy breezy (Covergirl), but when I look at other students on campus, I’m thankful to not have the intensive work that they have. So hey, being a first semester student isn’t so bad.
I’m proud of all of my accomplishments during my first semester at Temple. Before I used to hate being here and to my surprise, I actually miss Temple when I’m home. I would have never expected to say that small things on campus bring me joy. The evil Temple squirrels, the random cats you find roaming around, the food trucks that are SO good and my all time favorite awkward elevator rides to my dorm.
I’m happy to say I go to Temple University now and despite everything I’ve been through, it made me realize what I had right in front of me. There’s tons of students who hate the college they attend and they’re truly miserable where they are. Being a Temple Owl brings me pride and most of all, I know I made the right decision to stay since I get defensive when anyone talks trash about Temple (even if they are kidding).
As finals are sadly here this week, my first semester is coming to an end as well. Winter break is calling my name and having a ton of leisure time to catch up on my shows and most importantly, SLEEP! I now understand what the girl on the train was preaching to me about.
This place is my second home, it just took me some time to realize that.