Home Away From Home

Well, this is weird. My first summer staying in Flint the entire summer. In the months leading to summer, I was extremely excited. Finally, living on my own, having a full-time steady job, and a slight feeling of the grown up world. As many of my friends complained about the struggle of having to go back home and find a summer job, I was pretty content in my decision to stay. However, as the last day of the semester approached and everyone started to pack up their belongings, I realized I had nothing to pack. A task which had obviously turned into an end-of-the-year ritual was no more. To be honest, I somewhat panicked. What would I do up here by myself for four long months??? All my school friends were going back home and my back home friends would now be quite a drive away.  The first night after everyone moved out, I sat in my room and observed the silence. The echo of nothingness bounced off the walls so loudly I couldn’t sleep..

…Janelle, you’re all alone.

However, waking up the next day, I actually felt better. I think I just needed to come to the realization that change was here. Change is inevitable in life. You can’t run from it, you must tackle it head on. That is the only way you can grow. In the past two weeks I have realized that being by myself has allowed me to focus on things that I never had time to during the school year because of homework, or brush off in the summer to hang out with friends. Things such as taking the time to cook healthy rather than going out, using downtime to volunteer and prepare for life after graduation (May 2015!!!), and learning outside of the classroom. I mean things like reading, watching seminars and lectures pertaining to my career goals, and learning about skills I could enhance during my free time in the summer. So this is turning out to be a great decision! Plus, some of my friends are still up here and I have been meeting new people as well. I’ll keep you posted here on the blog and mostly Instagram on my adventures this summer. So follow us at @UMFlint on Instagram to see all my pics, like from the Tour de Crim I volunteered at earlier this May right here downtown! So much fun and many more pictures to come.