Last weekend, I headed back down to my alma mater, Charleston Southern University. I throughly enjoyed every minute I was there. However, it was also a little bit weird. Here are things you realize you miss and don't the first time back on campus.
DO MISS-The People
I miss a lot of my old friends. It was great seeing all of them and catching up with everything they're doing these days. I miss my professors (some), my coaches, and other staff members I got to work with during my time there. So many people shaped my experiences there and I am forever thankful they are in my life.
DON'T MISS- The Drama
While I do miss the people, I don't miss some of the drama that came with it. Everybody was always worried about other people and I'm so glad I'm done with that.
DO MISS- Playing
I miss the sport daily. I still feel like I could give so much to the game but at the same time, Ecclesiastes 3 tells us, there is a season for everything and I am thankful for the time I had on the field.
DON'T MISS- Not having a life
I miss playing, but I don't miss the time commitment or having my life belong to the NCAA. Softball allowed little time for anything else besides training and school.
DO MISS-The Small Knit Community
I miss walking out of class and saying hi to almost every person that walked by. I miss knowing almost everyone. I now go to a school with 10x the students CSU had and I don't know that many people beyond my program.
DON'T MISS- Everyone knowing my business
When you go to a small school everybody knows everyone's business. They know what you did on the weekend, who you've dated, the mistakes you made etc.
DO MISS-How easy school was and all the help I got
Now that I'm in grad school, I realize that the work I complained about in undergrad is nothing compared to what I have to do in graduate school. Plus all my professors were so accessible and I had really nice classmates willing to help me out.
DON'T MISS-All the nonsense busy work and gen ed classes
I do not miss a single gen ed class. I like being focused on one thing and taking classes that I'm actually passionate about. My motivation is also up a ton because I'm taking classes I'm actually interested in and want to keep learning more.
Finally, what I realized about college, is that it was such a great chapter of my life. It definitely made me who I am today and I don't think I would have been the same if I had gone somewhere else. I'm thankful for everything CSU gave me. At the same time, I am very thankful to be moved on. I outgrew it and am loving every minute of graduate school. There are days I miss undergrad for sure and wish I had one more year but all good things have to come to an end and it was nice to get a little closure on it. it was nice to feel like I got everything out of undergrad that I wanted to and I will forever be grateful for my second home.
