Do you have the “can’t go abroad” blues? Are you feeling trapped in the Stonehill bubble as the weather gets dreary and classrooms get duller? Don’t fret- you’re not alone.
You may find yourself on Facebook scrolling through albums on top of albums of your classmates’ wild adventures and exotic meals. The scenic photographs hog your newsfeed and crowd your Instagram. You can’t escape. As much as you enjoy living through your friends’ adventures, you become enraged with envy and snap your laptop shut in despair. Why can’t that be you riding a camel in the desert or sipping a cappuccino by the Eiffel Tower? You are just as cool and as daring, if not more, than those lucky fools.
Whether you couldn’t go abroad because of money, class requirements, athletics, fear, or your parents wanted you bubble-wrapped safe in Easton, it’s not the end of the world. Maybe you forgot to hand your forms in on time or didn’t even consider the process until it was too late. Whatever your excuse is…. don’t let this ruin your time left on campus.
If you’re waking up every morning and dreading the thought of robotically meandering through the same crowds of people and sitting at the same desk in Duffy, try to look at things in a different light. Could you truly handle a semester without seeing Patty from the bakery? You have four years here as a Skyhawk (unless you become a super senior and try to start the Stonehill Neverland Society). Make the four years the best you can. You may not be learning how to salsa in Spain or sipping a mojito in Mexico, but you have the rest of your life to do those things.
You have a limited number of Halloween mixers, Friday Night Bingo’s, and mac n’cheese bites from the Hill. Keep an eye on those pesky fliers and emails to make sure you’re taking advantage of all the opportunities offered on campus. If you stop moping and start studying more, your inevitably successful future will allow you to travel to Berlin on your own time, without having to take classes! You know those photo albums you envied so much? Use them to spur your future escapades. Your time here at Stonehill will fly by, so enjoy living with your friends while you can. Keep drinking that Sodexo coffee and waiting in line for Taco Tuesday. Stay calm Skyhawks; there’s hope for you yet.