What I Learned by Moving Across the Country for College

By Holly Hearn

Until the fall of 2023, I had never driven on a road with more than three lanes. I had never driven outside of Maine or New Hampshire. Then, I drove 1,250 miles away from home to go to college.

When we stopped at the Jacksonville airport to pick up a rental car after driving for 18 hours, I was determined to drive the rest of the way to my uncle’s house in St. Augustine.

With my dad in the passenger seat and my whole life taking up the back of my Subaru, I pulled onto Interstate 95 and headed south.

After all the miles, the first thing I learned from this move was the ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations.

Growing up, I hated even just sleeping over at friends’ houses, and now I moved from my home in Maine all the way to Florida to attend Flagler College.

As someone who had never even moved houses, the idea of packing up my life for college was daunting. It was so daunting that, besides Flagler, I only applied to schools in Boston and Maine.

Coming from small towns in Maine and New Hampshire, not many people I knew went far for college. Of course, there were some, but most of my friends ended up only going as far as Connecticut.

As scary as it was, I knew that Flagler College was the right choice for me. I had family in town and was very familiar with St. Augustine. How bad could it be? According to the Flagler College website, 55% of students come from outside of Florida, so I knew I wouldn’t be alone. 

Whether you’re going to college in your hometown or to one on another continent, it can be a tough adjustment that will teach you a lot. No matter how far you go, no one experience is more or less significant than another.

I’ve noticed that my adjustment from moving across the country is very different from that of my friends who come from other parts of Florida.

But I’ve also realized something else: Any time I’ve had to face a challenge, despite my lack of experience, I’ve had a much easier time adapting and facing it head-on.

I’ve learned to talk myself down when experiencing stress, whether it be from driving on Ponce de Leon Boulevard or figuring out how to rent camera equipment for Professor Gilmore’s Multimedia Production class.

Another thing I gained was a broader understanding of regional and cultural differences. I can luckily consider myself well-traveled for someone my age, but you can’t truly get to know a place unless you spend meaningful time there.

I quickly noticed differences in dialects. Apparently, I say words like “tourist” and “room” differently than others, and my roommate finds it weird that I call chocolate sprinkles “jimmies.” I also realized that Southern hospitality is a very real thing. Among other interactions, people tend to hold doors and smile at strangers more here.

According to an article by Inside Higher Ed, when students go to new places for college, their exposure to new cultures and differences is an integral part of their college experience. These differences make people more understanding of others overall and can give them the ability to bring the nation together as a whole.

Life is lived differently everywhere you go- vacationing in St. Augustine is not like living here. It has taught me a lot about myself, and having the opportunity to speak to people from other places has opened my view of the world more than I could have ever imagined.

Before committing to a school, my biggest concern was the “what ifs.” If I chose a Boston school, would I feel like I was missing out by not going to Florida?

That question was answered the second I made my tuition deposit. I knew I made the right choice. Staying in New England would have been comfortable, but I would have missed out on getting to experience a new life in a new place.

While those 1,250 miles of driving to Florida were scary, I know that I pushed myself to experience something that has changed me for the better. The miles between Maine and Florida gave me a new sense of independence, one that I wouldn’t change for the world.