I remember when I transferred to Northwestern. I had finished two years of community college though distant learning three months prior. One proud accomplishment I had from those years was being the first distant learning graduate to earn an associate’s degree through the college from my hometown.

After I had graduated, I was very nervous about the big transition that was yet to come. A big reason for this was the fact that I had never done anything big like this ever on my own before. One thing I had to look forward to was that my older sister, Savannah, was going to fly in from California to help me move. When the time came, Savannah rode with me in my car and we did a few things in Sioux City with our parents. Once I got to Orange City, Savannah showed me around campus and met up with old friends of hers from when she was a Northwestern student. It helped to get to know where things were, but I also got even more anxious while she was showing me around. That evening, I wanted to stay in my new room instead of watching a film showing for the new students. I remembered feeling very overwhelmed when I was on my own before I went to sleep that night. I did not feel like I could trust anyone in this new environment; not even my own parents.

The next day, I attended an orientation chapel for new students. I remember feeling bored and tired after the chapel. While I was outside, a man came up and started talking with my sister. I asked him who he was, only for him to tell me that his name was Greg and that he worked at the college. Once he left and we were walking away, my mother and sister told me that the man was in fact the college president.

Before we parted ways my parents gave me encouraging words on how they believed in me and that I was ready for the new step in life. After they left with my sister, I took part in a foreign language placement test required by all new students. Once that was done, I went to eat at the cafeteria with the regular students instead of going to the student vice president’s house to eat with the other transfer students. At the cafeteria, I sat at an isolated table to keep my distance; only for a student to join me. That student was a freshman named Isaac. He and I bonded and even gave each other room and floor numbers.

That evening, we went to the college president’s house for a new student meal. Once I saw the president again, I remember distinctly saying, “Nice to see you again, President.” I saw Isaac there again and even rode back with him. When I got back to my hall, there was a required meeting in the lobby for all students in the hall. We learned about things such as fire safety, hall rules, and we of course watched the tea video. We also had to give information about ourselves and say if we had ever wet ourselves laughing hard. Once we all answered and heard some amusing stories, I felt a sense of belonging in the hall and the college. Ever since then, I never looked back.