It feels like yesterday I was saying goodbye to you as you shed tears in the realization that your little girl was growing up. Yet my eyes remained dry at the moment, for I was ecstatic to finally be at college. To have a new beginning on this journey of life. To have my first taste of independence. I hugged you tight and told you that I would see you soon. I now realize this goodbye was tremendously harder on you than it was on me.
Shortly after, I fluttered to my room, excited to spend time with my roommate and make friends. The butterflies that had been in my stomach days before ceased to exist and were replaced with an eagerness to begin this new chapter at IUP.
Now it is the second semester. I have made friends and had experiences at college that exceeded all of my expectations. I can honestly say that I enjoyed my first semester as much as possible. While other peers struggled with homesickness, I struggled to understand why they did not think that college was the best time of their life.
Yet here I am now, missing you excruciatingly. Even the mere thought of leaving you during winter break brought stinging tears to my eyes. At this very moment, there is nothing I want more than to be able to hug you even though you are five hours away.
They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps this is true. While I relished the experiences of my first semester, I also saw the extent to which you have shaped me into the person I am today. I found myself admiring Japanese Maples on campus and making homemade tortillas to remind myself of home.
Upon returning home for winter break, I embraced everything about you…your little quirks and you calling my name from across the house so I can help you send a text- something I once would have rolled my eyes at. Perhaps absence did make my heart grow fonder during that first semester, and this is why I am missing you so much now. Being apart from you made me appreciate the time that we do have together more than I thought possible.
I realize now that everyone’s college experience is different. The homesickness some of my peers felt during those first few weeks of September is just as valid as the homesickness I feel now in January. After all, the journey of life is unique for everyone.
While I am certain I will continue missing you, I know that it will only make me cherish the memories we already have more, as well as the experiences we will have together in the future.
I love and miss you dearly.