I went Penn State Crazy

As I said in my last post, I needed/wanted a school with a lot of school spirit. When I took a tour at Penn State I was amazed at how many people were wearing Penn State sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, sweatpants, and even hats and scarves! They were so proud of their school and I couldn't wait to be a part of something so big. Even after the tour I bought a t-shirt and sweatshirt for myself, while my mom and dad bought themselves apparel, and picked something up for my brother (it was my first college visit and I think my family and I were a little overexcited). When I found out I got into Penn State, and officially accepted my entrance into the college, I was sent Penn State blankets, and even more apparel. My graduation party was full of Penn State objects; banners, cupcakes, and a pile of Penn State related gifts. As you can see, I was really excited about all the "things" Penn State had to offer. 

 One thing that's great about college is the independence you have. But sometimes this independence can get to be too much. Without my mom there helping me manage my spending, my shopping habit went a little too far. Like most girls, I love to shop. For girls shopping is like an obsession; even if we're not buying anything, we have to at least look! Personally, I love to search through online stores and just look at everything I want; If only I still had money to buy things!

   I sort of went crazy when I arrived at Penn State. As you know, I was really sad and miserable the first few weeks here; so I shopped, and shopped, and then I shopped some more. I couldn't stop myself! Everything that had the Penn State logo on it, I wanted. I felt like I needed EVERYTHING and I had plenty of money from working full time in the summer, so I thought what was the harm? Well, my bank account was harmed pretty badly. The 2,000 dollars I had quickly made it's way down to a mere 400-500 dollars. Let's just say that it is a good thing I got good grades my first semester because my parents were not so happy with my not very frugal spending!

   

Welcome to Penn State

My name is Jillian Lynch and I am from Milford, Massachusetts. For those of you who don’t know where Milford is (obviously most of you wouldn’t), it is about an hour west of Boston.  During the process of applying to college I knew I was definitely looking for three important things; a big school with a lot of school spirit that was also quite far away from my hometown. As you know, Penn State was my choice, and it was everything I wanted. Milford is about 7 hours from Penn State in car, and in bus it’s about 9 hours. And believe me, I started to regret going so far away during those tortuous bus rides. During the summer I couldn’t wait to get to Penn State and start to live the college lifestyle; I knew only one other person from my high school going and that was enough for me. I was the first of my friends to leave for college; I was their guinea pig. If I had an easy transition, so would they, and vice versa. Well I was quite confident that I would be fine; I had a very easygoing personality and was always good at making friends, so I thought, no problem! My parents drove me up, set up my room, and then spent some time on campus with me. When they said they would be leaving soon, I think I had a little panic attack. While imagining me having a panic attack please picture that “deer in headlights” look on my face. I was going to college, but wouldn’t my parents be staying with me? Or at least maybe my mom…wasn’t she my roommate? Those are the things that I would have loved to happen, but I’m pretty sure housing wouldn’t be too fond of my mother and I rooming together (we’d cause too much trouble together anyways). So off drove my parents and off I went to my dorm room ALONE and here at my Penn State my parents left me to cry and be miserable FOR TWO WEEKS. Just kidding, I wasn’t miserable, but I did cry every day for about two weeks; I couldn’t even call or Skype my parents for that long…I would get too upset every time I tried! You might call me a baby, but jeesh I was homesick! Not everyone understands this and I get that, but if you’re stuck at college with a not so great roommate for four months (until Thanksgiving), then you might be able to imagine what I was crying about. Going home for the weekends were out of the question; the buses were not cheap and the 9 hours it took to get there and come back were already half of a weekend. Eventually it got better, the other person I knew from my high school was actually my boyfriend, and so I wasn’t completely alone. I made a lot of friends, went to all the football games, and now love college. The point of this blog is to write about my experiences in college; the good times, the bad times, and the very strange differences between Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. I’ve been given some very strange looks, and I know I’ve been given some back. But, those stories can be saved for the rest of my blog!