This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northeastern chapter.
It was the drive I’d done my entire life, living 45 minutes from the city, but this one felt different. I remember raindrops piling on my windshield; “Je Te Laisserai Des Mots” played, and, as I typically do when a song “scratches the itch” for me, I played it on repeat for the remainder of the drive.
It’s mid-January. I am heading back to Boston after going home to get my car so my old roommates and I can embark on our 3rd annual ski weekend tomorrow.
I do not graduate until December of this year. My college experience has followed a nontraditional path: I started at a different university that I commuted to while living at my parents’ house freshman year. I felt like an MLB player signing a “one-year deal” to that college, knowing it was temporary and eventually, I would end up where I wanted to be: Northeastern.
It’s Fall 2021: I am the transfer student who feels like a freshman. I use Apple Maps to navigate my way around, but I’m trapped in the body of a girl who’s actually a sophomore. The funny thing is, I still look at campus with the same admiration and “glimmer,” for lack of a better word, that I did back then. I know that is because, despite the challenges of college, I would not want to be anywhere else.
Now, I’m in my fourth year. The majority of my friends I’ve made will graduate this May when I technically should too. The entrapment of juggling what year I am has remained, as I’m now a senior. Come Fall 2024, I’ll be a “super senior” (fifth year). This is a positive entrapment, as I have developed strong support systems and friendships with people who graduate in both 2024 and 2025. However, the first time that these two worlds I’ve established will no longer co-exist is just shy of three months away.
I am so excited for my friends and peers graduating in May. Although I won’t be physically walking across the stage with them, I know that there is a version of myself that will be.
I do not regret my college experience. I used to be ashamed of being a transfer student, but I am happy it resulted in being able to have an extra semester at Northeastern. It may sound corny and overdone, but I love the life I have created and who I have grown to become here.
Especially while being back in classes this semester, I have given myself extra time to feel and appreciate every moment. Most times, this is something I do quietly, taking mental notes of different times that feel precious and limited, and pausing to acknowledge them.
When will there ever be another time in my life when I’m 21 years old, living in walking distance from all of my friends, running late to class with them, then stealing a kiss from my boyfriend as our paths cross in between the chaos of Centennial? One day, I won’t be able to call my best friend to do our assignments in the presence of one another, taking too many breaks to laugh, rant, online shop or even make an Instagram Reel for my part-time job.
These moments are precious. My efforts to preserve them in writing can only go so far, but may these words be a reminder that despite the lack of comfortability that comes with college, this time in my life is beautiful and deserves to be cherished.
Senior year is emotional and filled with lots of lasts, but it is also a beautiful time to listen to “Je Te Laisserai Des Mots” and reflect.
I looked up the English translation of the lyrics: “I will leave you notes… and when you’re alone for a moment, pick me up, whenever you want.” Similarly, I will pick up my journal and reread the scribbles of pen to be reminded of this special time in my life.