30 Days In

By: Abi Maryo

About a month ago, I packed up my room, said goodbye to my three younger sisters and parents, and moved to Jackson Hall. If you had told high school senior me—who was always juggling work as senior editor, club meetings, and dog walking at the same time—that college is at the same time totally surreal and somewhat like home, I would probably laugh at you. 

But here we are—four weeks into freshman life at Elon, and I am currently sitting in the communications "underground" study room I was shown last summer and music playing in the background.

Saying that September has been hectic would be a massive understatement. Entering the African Diaspora LLC at Jackson Hall has been one of the best highlights so far. Having a dedicated place that enables me to communicate with people with similar cultural experiences has made my terrifying first week of orientation and the chaos of the move-in process more calming. While it is mostly alot of my Odyssey Program cohort–whom I spent 2 weeks with in the summer with. They have made it even more comfortable and another safe place. Also, my roommate, Marie, has made dealing with the sudden increase of freedom even easier. 

And speaking about routines, I have filled my day-to-day schedule with classes related to my Journalism major and participating in programs of communications, leadership, and Odyssey. I have developed my time management skills very quickly as I started to work with Visions magazine, which has been an amazing experience that is associated with collaborating with creative people.

While I was born in Greensboro, I was uncertain how different campus life was to be, but the transition from high school to university is real. I miss my family (and a few local favorites from back home—looking at you, Cheesecakes by Alex), but creating a person out of myself has been quite fulfilling. As I continue to click away on my camera, create music playlists for long nights of processing, and try to balance projects with sleep, I am slowly finding my rhythm.

While month one consisted of settling in, orientation, and figuring out where my classes are located, month two is focused on making headway on projects, diving deeper into my stories, and getting settled into my new reality.

If the first year continues at the speed it does, I’ll welcome it. Here's to the next thirty days.