FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Moving hundreds or even thousands of miles from home can be a difficult change, and it's one many college students go through every year.
That’s why one University of Arkansas student decided to create a guidebook to make that transition a little easier.
“I came from Austin, Texas, which is an eight-and-a-half or nine-hour drive away from Fayetteville, and I didn't know anything that the city had to offer. So, coming in with no information, it was kind of hard to dissect what to do, where to go, where's the best latte in town? Where should I go to study?” U of A senior Sydney Johnson said.
Now, Johnson is in her last semester of college at the University of Arkansas, and over the past three and a half years, she has learned a lot about her college town.
“I've been able to acquire my own list of my favorites, and I wanted to share that with girls, whether they're from out-of-state, or they live in Fayetteville and just don't know about all that it has to offer,” Johnson said.
While working on her honors thesis, she decided to put those ideas on paper and get it published.
She titled her book The College Girl’s Guide to Fayetteville, AR. The front cover shows a picture of Johnson with a group of friends she has made in Fayetteville over the past several years.
“These are all my friends from different areas of college that I was friends with from freshman year to now. It’s not one big friend group; it just shows the way that people can intermingle,” Johnson said.
The book includes encouragement and advice for girls starting college at the University of Arkansas and highlights Johnson’s favorite places and activities around the area.
“For every single spot [included in the book] … I talk about what they specifically offer and then I have a ‘Syd’s Pick.’ It's something that I would recommend you order or try,” Johnson said.
Since the book’s publication and launch back in October, Johnson says the response has been overwhelming.
“I thought, ‘ok, this is a great idea, and someone needs to do this, so hopefully people pick up on it,’ but seeing how many girls that have been impacted and have been messaging me on social media saying that this is going to help their freshman year, or even my friends that are like, ‘I didn't even know this existed’ … has been more than I could have dreamed,” Johnson said.
Although she will graduate from the U of A in December, the journey isn’t over.
“I want to keep this up as a hobby, and maybe even just continue to write books like this or be a mentor to other younger women. I think one way I plan to do this is to host launch parties at the businesses included and hopefully have girls attend and get to network and just create a community at the University of Arkansas,” Johnson said.
The College Girl’s Guide to Fayetteville, AR is available to purchase on Amazon, and Johnson says it is also planned to hit the shelves of local bookstores in the near future.