College used to be a terrifying concept to me. The idea of moving away from my family, friends, dogs, and Chipotle was enough to send me into cardiac arrest. I wanted to be excited just like everyone else, but my nerves overshadowed any of the little excitement I had. Needless to say, four years ago, I was scared to leave home. The ironic thing is that four years later, I am just as scared to leave home. Nothing has changed, except for the address of my home: 3261 West State Road, Saint Bonaventure, NY.
At the end of August during freshman move-in day, I remember my parents struggling to find a decent parking spot as we continuously looped around the Rob/Fal roundabout. Little did I know that was only the beginning of four years of a parking fiasco. I was annoyed, I was sweating, and I was wearing way too much makeup for move-in day. But hey, I was a freshman and were we not all try-hards?
As I made my way towards my new living quarters, Doyle Hall, all I kept thinking to myself was that I was on my own. I did not know what my future here held. I was unsure and anxious about starting a new life in the middle-of-nowhere with few familiar faces and no Wegmans. I didn't know it then, but the next four years were going to be the best four years of my life.
New faces became friends who quickly grew into family; Bonnies are unbreakable. Between the energy and excitement we feed off of each other in the Reilly Center at basketball games to helping each other out when trying to sneak through the windows of the Burton. From dorm drinking in Rob to leaping and sliding head first out of the Gardens windows to avoid RAs. Over the years, we developed a family outside of the homes that we came from. St. Bonaventure became home of the Bonnies – home of a new family. It didn't take long at all for me to realize I had nothing to be scared of all along.
People call us a “cult.” People don’t understand the “BonaBubble.” It is something that cannot be understood – only felt by those lucky enough to call Bonas home.
I have learned so much in my time here at Bonas, not just academically. I have learned that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom. Sometimes losing all sense of self is exactly what you need to be able to pick yourself back up again to piece together the puzzle that is your future. Losing everything is sometimes what we need to make sense of our lives, and I would not have it any other way. I learned who my true friends were and that my drunk girlfriends that I met in the bathroom should stay drunk girlfriends that I met in the bathroom.
It’s through this short journey that I found myself and prepared myself for what lies ahead. St. Bonaventure has helped me realize what I want to do when I go out into the real world and actually become a real person (scary). St. Bonaventure made me realize that I will not only have lifelong friends, but lifelong connections that will always have my back as I move on in life. In four short years, I learned more than the other 17 years of my life ever came close to teaching me.
So here’s to the nights we spent stuffing our faces with (what seemed like at the time) delicious Mangia’s pizza. Here’s to the days we spent suffering through Clare College. Here’s to the endless hours we camped out in Friedsam library with Dunkin Donuts iced coffee as our only fuel. Here's to Slaughter House for allowing the entire class of 2016 to take over their house every weekend of our Freshman year. Here’s to the four years we survived off Hickey food and praised RC wraps. Here’s to our home: St. Bonaventure, USA. Once a Bonnie, always a Bonnie.
