I have officially been at Manchester University for one whole month. A month is longest I’ve been away from Minneapolis, it’s the longest time I’ve gone without seeing my mom, and it’s the longest I’ve been away from my bed. I will experience around 1,080 months in my life (giving myself the benefit of the doubt and hoping I make it to 90). That means that this month is .09% of my life (look Mom, I can still do math!) and is a blip on the timeline of my life. That being said, it’s been a good blip.

My first real week was rough with a capital R. Every single thing I did made me think; ‘I wasn’t ready to live alone. I was not prepared for this and this can’t really be happening. Someone come get me right now.’ Before I left home my mom told me; ‘Your first day will be nothing like your tenth day, and your first month will be nothing like your third month, and your first year will be nothing like your last year.’ College is a weird state of semi-permanence. Things change quickly, but routines start forming and last for a long time. My first week was nothing like this week. This week I started my jobs, started talking to new people, and felt happy even when I was alone.

This month taught me that I can live alone, and work, and be a student, and have a social life. And weirdly, my friends and I tend to have emotional crises at the same times. So last night we sat on a blanket in the middle of the mall and took care of each other. That happens at Manchester because everyone here values each other. I feel entirely confident that if I was sad, or lonely, or panicking, I could’ve gone up to any person walking by and asked them for help and they would’ve been there for me.

I trust complete strangers here more than I trusted some of my friends at home. I like that I am never the smartest person in the room, and everyone has something to offer to me and they do offer it, with open arms. So maybe my next month will be nothing like my first month, but I certainly hope they are similar.