Moving away for college feels like jumping off a dock in March. Cold for a minute, then you’re swimming.

Big changes have a short, sharp opening stretch that feels like the whole thing. The first week somewhere new is all cold water: nobody knows you, nothing is where you expect it. Then your body adjusts and the same place turns into background you stop noticing. Mistaking the shock for the permanent temperature is what keeps people standing on the dock.

If something like this is ahead of you, plan the first week in detail and leave the rest loose. Two names to learn, one place to eat, one route you know cold.