Packing multiple suitcases, maneuvering around the overcrowded Bed Bath & Beyond, and settling into the small, sweaty dorm that was soon to be my home: I remember it like it was yesterday. But, unfortunately that wasn't yesterday, that was 585 days ago. 585 days ago, I began my freshman year at the University of Michigan. Today I am a sophomore, but in two weeks from now, I wont be.
I never truly understood it when people would tell me “time flies by, before you know it, you'll be done". But I get it now.
Waking up to a house of 63 girls each and every morning has been a big lifestyle change. Alone time is not a likely occurrence, but neither is feeling bored or lonely. There are always people who are down to stay in, study, or watch a movie with you. But, there are also always people who are ready to get dressed up, hit the bars, and have a fun night out.
But what happens in two weeks when we leave for Summer vacation? What happens when I wake up to an empty-quiet house, no longer surrounded by the bubbly faces and vivacious friends all around me. Will “bored" re-enter my vocabulary?
Who will be there at 2am, when I can't sleep, to watch a movie and paint my nails? Who will be there to laugh with me when i wake up in the morning and trip over the heels i left out from the night before? Who will be there when I spontaneously decide to do something stupid, and opt to go with me?
Leaving for Summer break is hard enough. I cant imagine my senior year, when its time to leave for good. How can we say goodbye to this place, our home? How can we sit back and know that football Saturdays are occurring and we are no longer a part of it? How can we separate from our friends back to our respective, distant states, none of which feel quite like Ann Arbor?
-No more complaining about how cold it is in the Tundra, while secretly loving that its always a great topic for conversation. No more late-night Rods Colliders, No more random trips to Charley's on those rare, bright sunny days. No more living within 10 blocks from each and everyone of your friends. And no more singing your heart out to Blink 182's, "Whats My Age Again?," at every party and late night on campus.It's not easy saying goodbye to my Sophmore year, but I am terrified of the day I have to say goodbye to Michigan for good. Leaving behind the breathtakingly- beautiful Law Quad , the infamous block “M", and the one-and-only Big House. Time's moving a bit too fast. But, maybe we don't have to say goodbye, instead a "see you soon;" because can you really ever say goodbye to a place like this? .... I know I'll always find my way back hoMe.
