During move-in week ’19, we asked UI faculty members to tell us a story about their own experience of leaving home for the first time. Here’s Illinois State grad and UI Extension specialist Laura Payne.
“My father drove me to college at Illinois State. When we got to Pontiac on I-55, I looked at him and said: ‘We are already to Pontiac. Can we go back and start the drive again? I am not sure I am ready for this.’
“I discovered my roommate was a sophomore, and I was both relieved and concerned simultaneously because she knew the ropes and as I observed that first weekend, she was a big partier. I was concerned how my sleep and studies would be affected by her affinity for late nights and procrastination.
“That first weekend we walked a lot, and I had help from more seasoned students on my dorm floor to learn the campus.
“I also learned that dorm food was as horrible as I expected, with a heavy emphasis on fried meats and starchy, bland, overcooked veggies.”
