Amidst the craziness of the last few weeks of spring quarter, I can’t help but feel an unsettling contradiction; I’m so eager to go home and experience a Chicago summer with my friends and so sad to leave the amazing things my first year of college has brought me.
As I endlessly scroll through my social media, I see my friend’s summer breaks begin in real time: pictures of them packing their dorms up, driving or flying home, reuniting with one another, working their summer jobs, spending time with their families. I want so badly to be experiencing it alongside them- but I also don’t want to leave.
It makes me incredibly sad to think that I’m almost done with my first year. This is my last bit of time living on campus (and with my roommates who have become two of my favorite people in the world). I know that next year will bring its own completely new set of highs and lows, but I like the life I’ve made here. I’m settled in.
At the same time, I would give anything to be working my minimum-wage job at my local ice cream shop, coming home to my own room and my mom’s cooking or maybe even to a friend’s house.
I think the solution to this quarter-system dilemma is to feel both truths. I am missing out on being home with all my hometown friends, but I get to experience the last bit of this year at college with my school friends. And there is a lot to appreciate about being here amidst the academic stress. Nights spent watching movies with my roommates free from the responsibility of having to get home in time or mornings getting coffee with my best friend using dining dollars.
I am, of course, suffering from severe FOMO watching my friends at home hang out without me and settle into their normal lives while I am still so far away. But if I spend the rest of my spring quarter wishing I was somewhere else, I won’t get to experience the beauty of a Seattle spring with my friends and the end of my first year.
As uncomfortable as it may be, I am going to feel a bit left out as my friends are home without me, but I’m also going to make the most of my last few weeks of my first year at college.
