This summer has been the shortest summer of my life. I graduated high school in late June, and I'm starting my first year of college in about one week. I used to have those extra few weeks before school started in September, but the reality is slowly kicking in that I'm not going back to public school in my hometown anymore.
I won't be going to the same high school that sat in the middle of my town with exhausted teenagers shuffling through its doors ridiculously early in the morning. (Why it would ever be a good idea to give the most sleep-deprived kids the earliest start times for school is still beyond me). I won't be seeing the same people I grew up with and have had in my classes since the first grade, or any of my teachers that I had for multiple years. I also won't be doing the morning announcements or saying the pledge of allegiance over a PA system or running big events like the homecoming dance like I did for four years in high school. There are so many "lasts" that I had in the past twelve months that some of them are only starting to hit me when it is the usual time for them to happen and they aren't happening anymore.
While this change can be bittersweet, it's also a bit relieving. Sometimes putting up with the same people for over ten years can be a bit tiring. And having a fresh new start, in a different school, city, and state is a whole new exciting challenge to take on.
For as many "lasts" that I've had in the past year, there will be plenty of "firsts" this year. I've already met some of my first friends before even arriving to campus, and hopefully, there will be many more. I'll go to my first college classes, and go to my first Villanova basketball game. I'm not ready for some of these firsts- like my first time living away from my family.
This is yet another one of those bittersweet realities that are coming into my head in these last few days of my summer before I start school.
But I know that I won't be having the hardest time adjusting because I only live two hours away from Villanova. There are some people moving across the country and even from other countries that are living in the same residence hall as I am. Regardless of where we come from, we will at least be in the same boat to some degree, because we will all be freshmen and we are all starting something new. And, of course, we are all having these bittersweet realities kick in no matter who we are. Each freshman starting school this month is going through their own list of firsts, lasts, and other changes. We're going on our first dorm-haul shopping sprees and hanging out with our high school friends for the last time until break, and we're desperately hoping to not be THAT freshman when we get on campus. I hope I can use this as a starting point so I can look back on my college experience from it's very beginning.
