The Hollywood image of university: new people, parties and classes. 
You've seen it played out hundreds of times on the big screen - but now,
for you, it's becoming reality.  Taking off to university or college is
one of the few times in life where everything changes, and adjusting can
be difficult - especially moving into a new place.
        Leaving home and moving to the city can be overwhelming. As a first
year student, living with other people in the same situation can help,
as first year photography student, Amanda Abbott, found out soon after
moving into Pitman Hall residence at Ryerson University. 
        "I lived in the country before moving here, but having wonderful
roommates helped me adjust," she said.
        Abbott, who chose to live in Pitman Hall because it's on campus and
because she wanted to meet new people, lived in Owen Sound before moving
to Toronto.  She said that decorating her room the way she had it at
home also made her feel more at home.  "I posted pictures of my friends,
and brought as much stuff from home as I could fit into my new room." 
        Nicole Salvalaggio has already been through a few years of living away
from home, but transferred to Ryerson this year. The 20-year-old fashion
design student moved to Toronto from Alberta, and she said that living
in rez was the safest thing for her to do because she didn't know
anyone, and wasn't familiar with Toronto. "It's kind of scary to go
through meeting new people," she said. "But in residence you have a
large support group there for you."
        "The majority of the people living in rez are going through moving out
for the first time.  Everyone realizes that, and we all help each other
out the best we can," Salvalaggio said.
        While some new students find it hard to move away from mom and dad,
others, like Domini Clark are up for the challenge.  Clark, a first year
journalism student who also lives in residence at Ryerson, said that she
didn't find it hard to adjust to living in residence.  "I was homesick
for all of one hour, and that was only after my parents left on the day
that I moved in," she said. 
        Clark, 19,  also said that frosh week and orientation activities helped
get her involved, make a lot of friends, and get a feel for the
university.
        In other words, the promo videos that university reps show are great,
but they're like watching Degrassi High in public school and imagining
that as the way high school will be.  The best thing to do now, is to
tour universities, and see how each campus 'feels'.  This will help make
the process of moving easier.  Adjusting to a new place to live is
simpler when the differences are expected.

Rosanne is attending Ryerson University in Toronto, she can be contacted at flowerhead34@hotmail.com