Walking around the UCLA campus was nothing new to me when I started school here. I had been frequenting campus my whole life, often visiting the Westwood area with my parents, who are UCLA alumni. Visiting campus was by no means challenging, seeing as my family lives 15 minutes away from campus by car with no traffic — not bad for Los Angeles, right? So, when I decided to become a Bruin, I faced the reality of going to school in the city where I was born and raised.
Many of my friends, also from the LA area, love being close to home. For one, moving in and moving out is immensely simplified, commutes are easier and cheaper and you are closer to your family for comforting visits or holidays (especially for short breaks like Thanksgiving, which must not be taken for granted). This of level proximity is convenient, simple and less isolating compared to being hundreds of miles from home. Being familiar with your surroundings can help make the transition to a new school less overwhelming.
Despite the numerous benefits of being close to home, I found it hard to feel like I was getting the “college experience” I had dreamed of. Characterized largely by increased independence, separation from familial obligations and an escape from complicated hometown memories, I worried that I would be missing out on something. I struggled to find what distinguished my life at UCLA from my life before it. How could I find a fresh start? How could I make my college life new, exciting and original?
The more time I spend at UCLA, the more I think about how it is easy is it to conflate self-identity with location. When I am at home, my personality feels attached to my surroundings and the memories I made there. In college, while there seems to be a “blank slate” opportunity, the parts of my identity which I have amassed until now do not go away. In truth, the more pressure I would put on myself to become different, the harder it became for me to get a real sense of what I wanted to accomplish at UCLA. Even though the physical environment is changing, it is okay to feel like the same person that you were before, and it is also okay to notice yourself change as your goals become clearer.
So, what makes college different from home life may not be the location and it may not even be new friends. It will probably take a while for excitement to overtake nerves (that is, when there are no upcoming exams) and for the connections you value to reveal themselves. Students from places both far and close will find that the more time they spend exploring their major and interests, the more they find where their UCLA niche might be located. For instance, in my first year, I was unsure about the path that my major was going to take and was confused about what campus organizations to get involved in. In truth, many students may find that their closest communities arise from clubs that have nothing to do with their career or major.
The moments that make college your temporary home may come in the form of greeting a new and cherished friend in the hallway and surprising yourself at how much you put yourself out there. It may come in the feeling of satisfaction you get from a test or paper well done. It may come to you in the way you miss campus, or not, during the summer. You will find that the community you cultivate will build itself brick by brick, whether you realize it or not.
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Featured Image Photographed by Julia Gu/BruinLife
