Editor’s Note: Kayla’s Korner will be a reoccurring column that deals with mental health and teenage issues.

With May 1 coming up this week, I decided to discuss my anxieties with going to college next year. For anyone who did not know, May 1 is “National Decision Day” where everyone that is going to college commits to the university.

Next fall, I will be attending Ithaca College. I chose this school because it was the least expensive and I loved the campus. I visited it earlier this year with my sister and after I took the campus tour, I just knew that this was the perfect school for me.

Ithaca also has many resources for students struggling with their mental health. The tour guides touched on how there is a building with counselors as well as a “light room.” These types of rooms can help with people that have seasonal depression. I really liked this and it made my decision even easier.

The school is about three and half hours north from Hillsdale, New Jersey. 

I will be majoring in biology and I hope to also minor in psychology. Through this, I plan on going pre-med and eventually attending medical school to become a doctor.

I am really excited to be on my own, but I am also terrified.

I have never truly been away for a long period of time without my family or friends. When I’m at college, I can’t ask my mom to do my laundry or make me food. I have to do it all on my own. Sure, this is how the real world works, but I love my mom and the way she does the laundry and makes dinner.

I also am really going to miss my twin sister. I have been with her since I was born and we have never really been separated by miles for long periods of time. She is going to Loyola University in Maryland which is around five hours away from me. It is going to be so weird not seeing her everyday.

I also get major anxiety with going to a new place. I’ve been to Ithaca twice, but I don’t know my way around the campus and that scares me. I hate getting lost and knowing I might at college really makes me anxious.

I already have a roommate, but I am scared I am not going to make new friends. I find myself very awkward and I’m not really good at talking about myself or being outgoing.

Despite these anxieties, I am looking forward to college. I am ready to be independent and I am excited to start working towards my career.

Coming next: Kayla’s Korner will be continuing with weekly articles. Next week, Kayla will continue to talk about college-life. She will discuss the effects of alcohol and recreational drugs on one’s mental health.