For some students, college is already an extremely scary thing to endure. Adjusting to a new city, new friends and everything else that’s new can make the large campus seem even larger. To add on to that, the fact that you are the only student from your high school to go to the college of your choosing is an even harder thing to face. No one likes to be alone.

The good news is, you aren’t alone! For the freshman class of 2017, there are 2,770 other students who are not residents of Iowa. Being an out of state student myself, these statistics make me feel better about being away from home.

However, with this in mind, I encourage everyone to be more considerate when talking to people. You never know what people are going through. There are some students who don’t get to go home for the weekends to do laundry and visit their parents, pets or room. There are even kids who don’t get to go home over breaks during the school year.

After spending the last 18 years living with our parents in the same situation, we now have to attempt to live on our own. We break ties with our parents, pets, siblings and friends all in the same moment. Having to move on top of that can be destructive to a person’s mental well-being.

The transition can be hard, but the best thing about Iowa State, for me, was getting involved in a learning community. I went from being a scared kid new to Iowa to a freshman among others who have the same interests as I do and may be experiencing the same fears as me. From homework help, picking up the slack if I were to miss a lecture or just getting coffee and talking, my new friends from the learning community made my situation so much easier.

It was hard for me to leave my friends from high school and come to a new state for college, but now I have something in common with the other 43 percent of freshman who are in the same situation as I am.

In the end, it doesn’t matter where someone comes from, it’s what you do with your situation that makes you who you are to others. If you want to make friends, go make some. Talk to the person who sits next to you in chemistry, get involved in a club you’re interested in, go to hall events, go out and do things! The experience is what you make of it, so make college the best experience you’ve ever had.