Ah, freshmen, we have successfully finished our first semester at the Capstone. It seems like just yesterday we were sporting our Bama Bound shirts to class and using Google Maps to navigate the mighty campus. Amidst the growing pains of trying to figure out our place on campus and learning how to “adult,” did we ever stop and think about what we truly would miss when we left Title Town for a month and went back to the comfort of our homes? For starters:

1. Dining Dollars.

I think we can all admit that nothing is as sweet as the swipe of an action card and the savory bites of Chick-Fil-A, Panda Express, Raising Cane’s or whatever our guilty pleasures may be. We all gasped a little bit when we remembered that our hangouts at home don’t take act cards and we actually have to use “real money” for a whole month.

2. Living with all of our closest friends.

It was a hard realization when I checked the Find My Friends app and realized that unlike the usual Burke, Tut, or Ridgecrest South--my friends were scattered around the country. The days of “meet at my room in 5” are no more for the next thirty or so days. RIP late night runs to Cane’s or sister sleepovers every night.

3. Swaps, band parties, you name it.

Thursday and Friday nights seem so dull without the hype of getting all dressed up in outlandish costumes to go sing your heart out to “Closer,” “Black Beatles,” and “Broccoli” with all of your sister friends.

4. All of our local hangouts.

Even though we’ve only been here for a semester, we start to find our favorite places. Whether you’re a Taco Mama fanatic, a Cookout regular, or a B Phil’s type of gal, you cannot deny that you will miss piling into the car on a Friday afternoon and going to stuff your face with your favorite food.

5. Our sorority sisters.

It feels like we haven’t spent a second apart since Bid Day, and we try to play it cool when we all say goodbye but we lowkey want to cry at the thought of not seeing our favorite people for a whole month. We’ve spent game days and school days alike together, plus long hours pomping or watching movies in the den. We do, however, find solace in seeing all of our sisters throw what they know wherever they end up this Christmas break.

6. Our Church family.

Aside from our sisters, we have found a family in whatever church we now call home. They are a great support system, and we cannot imagine Sundays spent worshiping with anyone else. They remind us of who we are and who we are created to be when college tries to distort our view. We know that we could not have made it through this semester without the help of our prayer community, and we cannot wait to get back to TTown to run into the comfort of the parishes we have made our own.

7. All of our classmates

We made some of our first friends in each of our classes, and it seemed that the semester ended just as we were about to hit the “real friend” level. While it is exciting to see what next semester holds, we can’t help but think that nobody will replace the first girl who told you hi when you sat down by yourself in psych or the guy who helped decipher your professor’s thick accent. You made our first semester of college courses manageable.

8. The T-Shirts.

It is weird to think that we will go to events for the next month and not receive a cute t-shirt just for our attendance. We grew accustomed to the feel of wearing large Comfort Colors t-shirts every day, and we gasp at the thought of having to actually pick out real outfits for the next month. The days of getting dressed in two minutes are no more for the days to come.

9. Naps

Before we mastered the art of the shaker on game days or the right way to maneuver through tour groups on our way to class, we learned how to successfully take college naps. From our twenty-minute cat naps in between classes to the marathon nap after test week, we will definitely miss the great z's we caught this semester.

10. Everything we want at our fingertips in ten minutes

Whether we need to pick up a prescription at CVS, want to go to the mall with our friends, or just need to get to class, everything that we wanted and needed could be reached in just ten or fifteen minutes. We are bitterly greeted by our hometown’s holiday traffic and thirty-minute car rides, and we cannot help but miss what we thought was the “worst traffic” on McFarland.

11. Our beautiful campus

More than Taco Mama or Bama Cash, we will miss our beautiful campus that we have grown so accustomed to. We have all had those moments when we stopped on the quad and basked in the glory of Denny Chimes at sunset or the beauty of the President’s Mansion. We experienced the anticipation of game days on Friday afternoons when the quad was adorned with tents, and we all felt the indescribable magic of Bryant-Denny Stadium on a Saturday afternoon. The leaves veiled the sidewalks of the quad at fall, and we watched the campus transform into a winter wonderland at Christmastime. To our beautiful campus, wrought with history and tradition, we will miss you for the month that we spend apart and we look forward to the sweet lullaby of Denny Chimes when we see you again.