Entering The "Real World"
My last post brought you up to speed about how I reached Columbus. Now that I'm here, the first thing I realized after traveling about 35 hours from Mumbai to Columbus - my life from Mumbai and Bryn Mawr hadn't traveled with me.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I was an undergraduate student at Bryn Mawr College. I stayed on campus for all the four years so I had to deal with very few "adult" things like doing laundry, filing taxes, getting a driver's license, and buying midnight snacks. Now, I would be dealing with grocery shopping, cooking (wish I had paid more attention when my mum cooked!), vacuuming, doing laundry and paying bills.
I knew going to grad school right after completing my undergraduate degree would be a jump but I didn't know how long of a jump it would be. When I landed in Columbus a couple of days before our pre-term, I didn't have a friend to ride back to Bryn Mawr with. I had to drag my two big suitcases and a small one to the taxi stand, and book myself a cab.
I am sharing an apartment with two other grad students, but I was the first to arrive. So, there wasn't anyone at the apartment either. The next morning, I went to the WiFi store then to Kroger (because WiFi is obviously more important than groceries). I then went to the BMV to renew my driver's license. At about 4pm that day, I came home to suitcases that desperately needed to be unpacked and a stomach that definitely needed to be fed.
And, after all of that, I had yet to prepare myself to start studying all over again after a two-month break and celebrate my 22nd birthday in a new place with no familiar faces around. In senior year, we counted days to graduation but I hadn't realized it was a countdown to adulthood too.
Moral of story: When moving to a new city for your graduate program, wherever that may be, I recommend giving yourself a week or two to acclimate yourself to your new surroundings. Get to know the area, settle in, and breathe deeply - you got this!