Last year, I watched a total of 84 movies (or, at least, that’s how many I logged on Letterboxd). This year, it’s already April, and I have only watched 16 movies (and 9 of those were for my thesis). Last semester, I saw my friends all the time; this semester, I’ve been MIA.
I no longer want to be disconnected from the people and things I love so much; it’s my last four weeks of college, and I am determined to savor as much of it as possible.
When I first entered college, I was so sure that I would never be the person who only read a couple of books or watched a couple of movies a year because I was too busy. I used to think it was not that hard to fit in 20 minutes of reading every day. But boy, was I wrong. In previous semesters, I was able to fit at least a movie a week into my schedule, either going to the movies or watching something in the comfort of my bed; you can bet I logged movies often enough that Letterboxd wouldn’t log me out. This semester, it took me about two months before I even realized I was logged out of the app due to inactivity.
The same could be said for my social life. I used to think I knew school was important, but there’s no way I could be so busy that I don’t see my friends for weeks. Once again, I was proven wrong. Unless I had a particularly light week (which was extremely rare), the only time I could see my friends this year was for study sessions. And even then, I still felt the guilt of “not being productive enough” weighing down on me. No longer was I able to hang out, get dinner, or go to a school event with them. Instead, it felt like I was being forced into solitude by my schoolwork.
I have officially submitted my senior thesis (goodbye Jane Austen; I love you, but I won’t miss you), and now that the semester is winding down, I’m excited to savor the last month I have at Texas A&M. You can bet the local Cinemark will be seeing my face, and I will be texting my friends nonstop to make plans. I have a long list of movies I want to watch this month, and a million and one places to go, things to do, books to read, etc. While I am incredibly proud of what I have accomplished this past semester academically, I’m excited to enjoy my final month in college by being a social butterfly and savoring every day I have left in College Station.
Long story short, I miss the movies and my friends. But they’ll be seeing me soon.