As I wrap up another semester of college, reminiscing on the year I’ve had is inevitable. Thinking about leaving this year is far more difficult than it has been in the past. I’ve become closer with seniors that I have to say goodbye to indefinitely. I’ve become closer with people in my grade that I have to say goodbye to for three months. And, worst of all, when I come back this fall, I will be a senior. This is my very last college summer, and that alone is enough to make my stomach do flip-flops.
Everyone has said that time flies when you’re in college, and to make the most of each possible second. Lately, I have been thinking that college has been moving at a slow pace, and it almost feels like I'm stuck in time. Every year here has felt four years long. At this age, so much changes every day. Every semester has been a completely different experience for me. I've watched everyone around me, including myself, grow up a lot. Each year has been a stepping-stone to another journey/path in my life. The longer I'm in college, the more I grow, and it’s crazy to think of how far I've come since I was a 17-year-old freshman.
As I write this article with one-week left in my junior year, I can confidently say that I am not the same person that I was in 2013. I’ve learned lessons the hard way. I've learned how to do my own laundry. I’ve learned balance. I’ve become independent. I know how to cook chicken. I no longer get homesick. So many little things that seem insignificant, but these things have all added up to create a big picture that I now call my life.
All of the fun (and I mean A LOT of fun) that I have had going away to college makes me thankful that I opted against staying home. If I stayed home, I would have never realized what I was missing out on. Going away has allowed me to get out of my comfort zone. I never thought that I could be anything other than a homebody, and it turns out that I was wrong. I now know that I am more than fine alone.
I have a house now, and I have learned what it takes to take care of it. I have gained insight as to why my parents were hard on me during the many years that I lived in their house. I have gained more respect for all of the things that they did and still continue to do to keep the house in order, because I now understand the difficulty of maintaining cleanliness.
When college is over, I know that I will have the most amazing memories to bring along with me wherever I may go in life. The traits that I have obtained and the things that I have learned about myself will stick with me forever because they have now become a permanent part of my personality. The life that I'll have after college will be painted by the knowledge that I have gained during those four, life changing years. When I chose my school, I had no idea that it would have such a lasting effect on my entire life.
St. Bonaventure wants all of their students to "Become Extraordinary," but we become so much more than that. We become leaders, teachers, hard workers, future CEO's, friends, and, most importantly, family. So cheers to the end of another great year, and cheers to my amazing school for making my experience so remarkably memorable.
