my own piece of home

About two weeks after I moved in to my dorm room, I got this little box in the mail. Turns out, my aunt sent me a care package. It was filled to the brim with popular Asian snacks and my aunt had attached a lovely note wishing me good luck in college. I was so moved by the fact that she even thought of me in the first place.

As someone who's grown up with strict parents, coming to college and being able to live on my own felt like a breath of fresh air. But at the same time, I realized how a change like this threw my usual rhythms off-kilter. I became so caught up in the novelty of college life that when I went back home for the first time, I felt like a stranger. I remember sitting down for lunch with my family and thinking it felt exactly like a brunch outing with acquaintances: enjoyable but ultimately distant. It was the strangest feeling. It took me a long time to reintegrate myself with my family, and even longer to reconcile the "college me" with the "at home me".

The thing is, the gift box itself was very sweet, but it was just a passing thought at the time. It wasn't until later that I would think of the box, sitting tucked into a corner of my room, as a reminder to myself to not get so caught up in everything. Sure, an identity crisis like this certainly wasn't something I had anticipated as a potential roadblock, but it proved to me that the transition to college requires adjusting to more than just a heavier courseload—there's quite a bit of emotional heavy-lifting to do as well.