The idea of the U-Curve makes a lot of sense to me because before I came here I was really anxious and college was just about the only thing that I talked about. Then, once I got here, I felt completely shell-shocked and out of my league. I wasn't sure how to fit in or what was expected of me. Now that I've been here for a while though, I am beginning to understand what I need to do and when I have time to relax. I feel more comfortable here but I think I still will feel more at home in Minnesota.
Eventually, however, I will come to see American University as my home. And when I visit Minnesota over breaks, I will experience the W-Curve. I am going to be visiting home this weekend and I'm not sure yet whether or not I will have a tough time fitting back in or whether I have changed my norms and attitudes. If I have, I expect that I will be surprised because I haven't been at AU for long and I don't think I have adjusted to the culture fully.
Through learning about the U-Curve and W-Curve, I feel like I understand how I have been feeling more fully and like I can now predict how it will feel to go home, whether it is for Thanksgiving break or summer break.
I completely agree with your opinions in this post. When the U-curve and W-curve were mentioned in the beginning of the year, I did not really understand what was being described. But after traveling back and forth between Tennessee and Washington, DC, I began feeling certain emotions that I did not quite understand at the time. After reading the section, I began to identify with these curves and realized that this was what I was experiencing. Though right now I tend to dread coming back to American University, I am hoping that that will change and I too will begin to view it as coming back home.
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