College Series: How to Navigate the Transition to College

Getting ready for college is way more than buying coordinating bedding from the dorm department at Target.

In the past 5 years, my husband and I have sent all three of our kids to college. To say it is a roller coaster doesn’t come close to describing the ups and downs of getting ready for move-in day.

Prepping is packed with:

Emotions.  So many emotions! Excitement, sadness, fear, loneliness, anticipation.

New Dreams.  Getting ready for college is full of visions of a stage of life that has never happened before.

Choices.  Since kindergarten, the path has been clearly laid out, but now there are so many decisions to navigate:

Choosing classes

Majors to decide

New roommates

Dating relationships

Clubs and activities

Independence. The college student is suddenly more autonomous than ever before AND experiencing transition at the same time.

Saying goodbye.  (Need I say more.)

Over the next few weeks, our  College-Bound Series will focus on preparing for college -- not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. We’ll have lots of great perspective for both students AND parents.

Most college students will struggle with temporary seasons of anxiety. We hope sharing some of these stories will help you be prepared with a toolkit of self-care.

• My own college-aged kids, Rachel and Jack, will share their experiences with anxiety and stress in college, and what helped them deal with everything.

• Weighting Comforts’ Social Media Specialist and Graphic Designer, Sam Harrison, will share her wisdom on wanting to do all the things and thrive in college.

• My dear friend, Joan Andres, LMFT, has 15+ years of experience as a therapist on a college campus. She will write about the importance of getting enough sleep, and about symptoms of anxiety and resources available to college students.

• At the end of our series, I will give some self-care tips for the parents of college students. We’ll look at launching your kids into college, the normal ups and downs of letting go, being an empty nester, and all the emotions of that season.

If you know someone in the middle of this season, please forward this post to them!

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Be Comforted,

Donna Durham, MMFT

President & Co-Founder

Weighting Comforts

*Dorm room image from Pinterest