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Long Beach State, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Irvine and Chapman University are all universities within a half hour of my house that I could have applied to but didn’t.
I had a perfectly good reason not to.
While I was finishing up at my junior college, I applied to San Jose State, San Diego State, Cal State East Bay and of course, Chico State.
I think going away to college and living on your own is an important experience for all young people to have.
I now live in Chico, eight hours away from my parents and have the ability to make my own decisions of where I go and what I do without having to check in with anyone, as well as being able to meet new people, explore a new city and take advantage of new opportunities.
Going away to college has given me experience taking care of and managing my own life, while still having the safety cushion of university housing and the help and support of my parents if I need it.
While I am off having a great college experience in Chico, nearly all of my high school friends are living at home and haven’t been away more than two weeks at a time.
Attending a local university, from what I have seen from my friends’ lives, involves going to campus only to attend classes, leaving right after classes are over and maybe getting involved in the occasional club.
When you go to a local university, there is no living with friends, roommates or making your own unsupervised decisions.
In general, there are no new and exciting adventures, changes or opportunities that separate college life from high school life — except maybe harder classes and more expectations from parents.
While that is bad enough, the worst part of living at home will be after graduation — which inevitably comes no matter how much you may not want it to.
People who have chosen to stay at their parents’ homes will not only have to go out and find a job, but also move out and support themselves.
Going away to college for the first time is stressful enough and that is only during part of the year while still receiving help and support from parents. However, completely moving out with no experience living on your own on top of having to find a job can be overwhelming.
What is the appeal of living under the supervision of your parents in your late teens and early twenties when you could be out on your own? College seems like the only time where you can get out and do what you want, wherever you choose.
There is an endless number of colleges available, no matter what kind of experience one could want, whether it’s going to school in cities like London or New York, or spending time in the South or Midwest in states such as Alabama or Minnesota.
I don’t want to waste this time and opportunity that only comes around once.
I understand someone might not be ready to go away right out of high school, but there is always the option of starting out at a local junior college or university and transferring, which has worked out great for me.
Although I know enrollment is being cut and many campuses are only accepting transfer students from their service area, I think there are plenty of opportunities to have an exciting college experience in a new city, including the Study Abroad program or the National Student Exchange.
I don’t think anybody would like to wake up years later, tied down with a career and possibly a family and realize they have spent their entire lives in the same city they were born in.
Rachel Westmore can be reached at
rwestmore@theorion.com.
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