Welcome home.
You're going to hear this at least once during the first few days on Elon University's campus. After any number of applications and months of anticipation, you've finally arrived at the school of your choice. It's new and intriguing, and hopefully it feels right, like a home should.
About a month and a half from now, you'll make that first visit back to your family for fall break after having adjusted to your new life as a college student. And you'll hear it again, maybe from a parent when you pull in the driveway or maybe a younger friend when you go visit your old high school.
Welcome home.
So which is it? To the people who raised you, home will always represent their child's life in their household, where you marched in the school band, took embarrassing prom pictures or worked at the local cafe. But to you students, home will probably take on an entirely new meaning. Your new home at college represents independence, maturity and a chance to prove that you are capable of living on your own.
Your transition to Elon University will not always be an easy one. After the whirlwind of orientation activities has died down, you'll feel varying degrees of homesickness, whether you admit to it or not.
And while this is perfectly understandable, wallowing in that feeling is not the way to go.
Remember the accomplishments and memories you made with friends and family in high school, but don't expect your life to be exactly the same. Your first few days at Elon are just the opening sentences in an entirely new chapter of your life.
As enthralling and challenging as the next four years are going to be, you don't want to be held back by the last chapter you already completed.
Make the conscious decision to be an active participant in this new home of yours. Find clubs that suit your interest and maybe challenge yourself and discover new talents in an activity never before broached.
Perhaps most importantly, don't neglect the surrounding community. It's easy to see Elon as your entire world represented in the 600 acres of campus. There is a big world outside the well-manicured lawns and impressive buildings, a world that is not always pretty.
Instead of making a trip home every weekend, visit a local homeless shelter. It takes 10 minutes to drive to Allied Churches of Alamance County, a shelter that provides food and accommodations for the local homeless.
Or take a trip on the BioBus to downtown Burlington and come face-to-face with the realities of the local community.
Parents, don't be overcome with sadness when you accidentally walk into the empty, dusty bedroom and are reminded that your little girl or boy is all grown up. Be excited for the opportunity they have been blessed with. Encourage your students to become active contributors and to take advantage of the four years they have been given to learn, but also to make a difference.
And students, whether you consider your parent's house or a tiny dorm room home, being a part of a home is not just about being static. It's about being involved and recognizing your potential.
You are more than the GPA or SAT score that gained you entrance to Elon. You are more than an occupied seat under the oaks at Convocation. You are more than just another new face in a sea of nervous students on their way to their first college class.
You are integral piece of the puzzle and a part of the family. Welcome home.