As the youngest sibling, I’ve been super lucky to grow up having an older sister do everything for me. In elementary school, she’d pack my lunch in the morning while I watched cartoons. In middle school, she managed all the deadlines for things like basketball tryouts and picture day. And ever since high school, she’s made sure I never have to drive anywhere. Needless to say, I’ve always been pretty dependent on her. But when I chose a school 1,487 miles from home, I knew that would have to change.
Transportation
The first big change happened almost immediately. In Texas, we just drive everywhere. At least in the suburb where I live, city transportation isn’t even an option. Since I don’t have a car in Baltimore, I’ve had to adjust to navigating the buses and Blue Jay shuttles that Hopkins provides. Thankfully, the TransLoc app tells us how far away the buses are and their routes. I’m getting better at it, but the trains are still a little daunting.
I had also only flown on a plane a couple times before coming to Hopkins, and I never had to book my own ticket, navigate the airport, or call an Uber. Booking my flights ended up being super easy, but I’ve learned the hard way to schedule them in advance and give myself plenty of time to make it to class. Since I always try to maximize my breaks when I go home, I thought choosing a flight that arrived early in the morning when my classes started later in the afternoon would be totally fine. I knew exactly where to go in the airport and how long it would take to get back to campus—it was a foolproof plan! Unfortunately, this happened to be the one time there was a massive TSA line, and my flight was overbooked, so they left without me and around 10 other people. The closest flight they could get me on left in five hours, and it wasn’t even direct; I had a layover in Florida. I ended up making it back to campus around 11:30 p.m. when I should’ve gotten there at 10 a.m. Luckily, my teachers were understanding when I emailed them, so it wasn’t a problem, but I’ve definitely learned my lesson!
Housing
The first two years of housing at Hopkins are easy because students must live on campus, and for our first year, Hopkins picks our roommates for us based on a questionnaire we fill out. Basically, all we have to worry about is how we’re gonna move our stuff in/out and where we’re gonna put it over the summer. After that, the hunt for an apartment gets a little more complicated, especially since everyone tends to be looking at the same time. The best advice I can give is to start your search early, so you get exactly what you want. I was fortunate to find a place pretty late in the game, but it would’ve been less stressful to have started earlier. I didn’t realize how many things I had to consider until it came time to look. There are lease lengths, location, amenities, rent, utilities costs, and furnishings, plus the added burden of getting your stuff moved in/out.
I’m used to my sister going through things first, then just telling me what to do. Although she was still a huge help, she wasn’t in Baltimore doing the entire process for me like I unrealistically wanted. This, of course, meant I was making my own decisions and reaping whatever consequences that entailed. So, here’s a small list of things I did, that I very strongly do not recommend:
1. Signing a lease without touring the apartment first
Honestly, this one worked out for me because I would’ve signed it anyway, but it was still a risky move. I ended up touring later when my mom discovered I’d never actually seen the place I was going to be living in (oops).
2. Not asking many questions on my tour
To follow number 1, when I entered my future apartment, it felt like I walked into a jungle in the middle of summer. The lady giving me my tour said she had no idea why the person living there was keeping it so hot but reassured me that I’d be able to control the temperature. Apparently, by “temperature” she only meant heat because I later found out my apartment doesn’t have air conditioning.
3. Moving in the day before school started
After my flight fiasco, I started booking them for the day before classes start instead of the day of. This I recommend—unless you’re moving into your apartment. Everything was going fine until I saw my bathroom wall was covered in mold and my entire place needed to be painted. If I had moved in earlier, I would’ve had this resolved before school started. Instead, I spent my first week of classes with maintenance workers in my apartment, sleeping on the floor (I procrastinated buying furniture), having no Wi-Fi, and breathing in mold treatment and paint fumes.
Managing Money
Although I knew the value of a dollar from previous jobs, I never saw it in comparison to living expenses. Seeing how many hours of working it would take to cover the cost of my rent, utilities, meal plan, and other necessities put me into more of a “saving” mindset. It’s also up to me to make sure everything gets paid on time. In the past, my forgetfulness might have meant I misplaced my keys, but now it means I could get my electricity turned off. That fear sure did make me responsible!
Budgeting has made me more appreciative of what I have and much less likely to be wasteful. The disappointing statements of “we have food at home” or “leftovers for dinner” are now things I have to tell myself. And no more accidentally leaving lights on when I leave for classes. Now I know why my parents always told me to turn off my lights and open a window!
Finding a job
Before coming to Hopkins, I never had to devote time to finding a job. I had an awesome winter side hustle during high school that I got based on small-town connections. When I arrived on campus, I started applying to anything I was eligible for using SMILE, the campus job search platform. I managed to secure a couple interviews, but no offers. Eventually, I landed my first job through word of mouth. I was raising money for the club basketball team by helping with game day operations in the athletics department. I started talking to someone else working and she told me they were hiring and who I should email. After experiencing how hard the job hunt can be, I was super excited to finally be making some money!
Eventually, I learned that the best way to get a job through SMILE is to check the listings every day and apply to anything you’re eligible for. I was really lucky and got my current campus job solely because I was the first person to apply out of almost 200 applicants. The entire process of building a resume, filling out applications, going to interviews, being professional, and completing my I-9 paperwork has undoubtedly made me more independent.
Overall, I’ve grown a lot since coming to Hopkins. It’s allowed me to step out of my comfort zone, solve problems, and learn to rely on myself more. Although I’ve come a long way, I’m still learning new things all the time and getting a lot of help along the way. Just last week, my sister helped me register for my MCAT. But let’s be real, she has to help me; she’s the older sibling!
