On Friday the 17^th, after weeks of planning and schedule arranging, I was finally able to enjoy a girl’s night out that I so desperately needed. After four years of college, I have realized one thing: time is precious – for academics and self-care. For the last three and a half years as a college student, I have filled each semester with as many credit hours as I could manage, and along with work, that left very little time for me to actually leave campus – ever. That didn’t stop me from making friends, of course – friends who keep themselves just as busy as I do. Finding the time to spend all together just on campus is a rare enough miracle, so an off-campus, honest-to-God G.N.O was something to be treasured. It may have been a simple dinner at Applebee’s, a last-minute decision as opposed to a late-night movie, but it allowed us for two hours to laugh and eat and catch up, uninterrupted by anything school-related. Not to mention, of course, Graduation is on the fast-approaching horizon, so these moments and these people soon won’t be as readily available to me as they are now. For me, this was an especially helpful outing, as I had already gone through a taxing day and desperately needed a really good distraction. Thankfully, the night seemed to make everything better, and gave me the energy to face an all-night writing extravaganza, and a very long week that will, I’m sure, leave no room for any sort of meaningful human interaction outside of my classes. (But what else can I expect the week before Spring Break?)

Even so, the night was flawless and a wonderful memory for me to hold on to. I know when – I hope – we’ll be able to have another night like that again, but for now, just that one was a perfect example of those few moments that make every other day in college – no matter how stressful – completely worth it.