Separation, Transition, and Incorporation

I don't know that I really have a college experience to write about just yet; I have only been taking college courses for a month.  And as this is technically my senior year of high school, I am not even taking a full course load.  However, I did have one experience that might be considered similar to transitioning to college.  Last year, I spent two weeks at the International Music Institute and Festival (IMIF) at Mount Saint Mary's College in Emmittsburg, Maryland, where I lived in the dorms and experienced, in varying degrees, all of the stages of transitioning that Tinto talks about (separation, transition, incorporation).  I distinctly remember one of the stages more than the other two:  the stage of separation.

The first day I spent at IMIF—getting my things settled in, exploring the campus, and meeting new people—was a lot of fun.  I have gone on overnight trips and sleepovers plenty of times in the past, and I have always loved them.   But this time, after a few days, it really started to set in.  I kept waking up and thinking I was in my own bed, in my room, only to realize that I was still in the dorm.  I was hours away from my family and all my friends, and I barely knew anyone at IMIF.

Tinto says that home life and college life differ in "values, norms and behavioral and intellectual styles that characterize everyday life," and I found IMIF's highly structured schedule to be very different from my own.  We had to wake up at 6:00 every morning, do stretches and exercise, and be at meals at specific times in order to hear announcements.  There was no one to remind me to go to sleep or get up or be somewhere at a certain time, and I was 100% responsible for managing my day.  Tinto says that the experience leaves the individual temporarily disoriented,  and I did, in fact, spend the first four or so days "dazed and confused":  suffering from severe sleep deprivation, missing my family terribly and barely keeping up with rehearsals, lessons, and practicing.

Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes

But it did get better.  One of the things that helped was connecting with my roommates and realizing they were all in the same boat as I was, and so I wasn't alone.  Learning to manage and structure my time in order to keep up with the schedule was, at first, foreign and confusing, but by the end of the festival I had worked out a system, and it has actually helped me in my ordinary life.  Being away from my family made me appreciate them more.  Stepping out of my "comfort zone," I learned that I have the capability to be more self-reliant. I think it was definitely a positive, successful transitional experience that has helped me to be more confident, independent, and responsible.

That's Me...Second Row From the Back, Third From Left!

. . . And, I should probably mention, it also helps when you are having an amazing time collaborating,  creating beautiful music and making friends for life.  :) 

Next year, I plan on transferring from CCBC to Towson University. As a musician and hopeful music major, I am already in preparations for auditioning this January for Towson and a few other schools.  I feel like looking at the repertoire that's going to be studied and the audition requirements and practicing accordingly could be considered similar to the anticipatory behaviors that Tinto talks about.  Also, I am taking Music 101 here at CCBC, which transfers to Towson as Music 105.  Also, Towson offers opprotunities to participate in a symphony orchestra and music ensembles, both of which are things I plan on doing.  While I don't know that I am going to have as much of a physical separation as those going to an out of state school, I feel that my transition is going to be more in terms of the difference of how I plan my days, the materials I'm studying, and the students I'm interacting with.