Life at the University of Denver

​Finding My New Home  by Alex Weisshaar
 
     Choosing my college was not an easy process for me, I didn’t really know what I wanted or who I wanted to be for the next four years of my life. I know for some people University of Denver is their dream school that they have been fantasizing over for a long time, and it is like that for a lot of other people with other colleges too. Either way it is a stressful process for different reasons. To help me organize my thoughts about each of the colleges I was applying to I created a spread sheet with the pros and cons of each, but ultimately it does come down to the feeling of the campus and your comfort in going to that college. University of Denver had the atmosphere that I wanted to be surrounded with while also being a somewhat comfortable decision. I always encourage everyone to take risks that will lead to positive growth, but if the thought of imagining your future somewhere gives you too much stress it isn’t worth it. 
 
            Although my high school in Eden Prairie prepared me well, some classes are harder than others. For example, my writing skills are much stronger than I thought, but my chemistry class is really difficult for me. I like that you get the syllabus the first day because it allows you to work ahead when you have time and plan your weeks accordingly. The social life is certainly very different. You are always surrounded with people and providing you with constant opportunities to be doing things. Personally, I am more of a homebody, so this can feel a little overwhelming and lonely at times. It can be hard to ignore the sounds of people about to go out when you are having a relaxing night in. Just stay true to who you are and what you want to do. 
 
            Choosing who you want to hang out with can be hard too. Luckily, my floor is pretty close with each other and regularly go to dinner together, but I also made friends through the rowing club. I’ve done sports all through high school and knew going into college that I wanted to do a club sport. As well as just having a motivator to keep me active it’s an instant way to make friends. I’d done one season of rowing and really enjoyed the sport and the type of people who are usually associated with the sport. From the first practice I knew that these are the people I wanted to spend my four years with, unlike some of the friends I made the first few weeks. My roommate and I get along well and live well together, she is clean and nice, but we aren’t best friends and it works well for us. Our neighbors are almost always up late blasting their music and I have to wake up early for rowing, so that is inconvenient but otherwise my living situation is much better than some others I’ve heard. 
 
            As we are getting closer to break, I am getting more excited to go home, I haven’t really gotten homesick, but being home sounds nice. I miss things that I didn’t think I would. Like my car; I miss driving my car and listening to the radio. I still play the Current (Minnesota local radio station) live stream on my laptop sometimes. I miss the smell of the laundry detergent my mom uses. I miss making breakfast and baked goods. I miss not having to take the elevator to my 10thfloor room. But really this is my new home and I love it here. Wherever you end up will feel like home. Being able to go downtown or to the mountains whenever I want and everyone here has made this home for me. High school was really fun for me but this is even better in ways I could never have imagined.