You know those moments when you're walking to class, headed home after a long day, or just waiting for an on-campus event and you take a step back and marvel at how lucky you are to be here? Facing graduation in just a few short weeks, I have been thinking about all of the things I'll miss about being at UF everyday. There's always the big and obvious reasons, but there are some little things I'm going to miss too.
The RTS drivers
Whether you talked to them or not, we all had one or two RTS drivers that we saw every too-early morning and at the long-awaited end of the school day. They got us to class on time, waited for our awkward-backpack wearing-running selves to catch up because they knew the struggle, and became an underrated friendly face. It’s weird to think once we graduate we won’t see them anymore, so here’s to them.
The sense of community about anything and everything
Didn’t get to register for the class you wanted? We feel that. Starbucks has it’s bars up when you really need that coffee? Relatable. Had to switch libraries in the middle of studying because they changed which one is open past midnight? Yeah, been there. We all can connect about such mundane things about the university, and once we leave, that will go with it. I can’t think of a time going forward when we’ll have that many people going towards the exact same goal (a degree) in the exact same place.
The Later Gator
These bus rides were the absolute best. There’s just something different about RTS past 10 p.m. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the people on the bus are on their way to something other than class. Either way, these bus rides hold the filler time to some great memories.
That period of time when Yik Yak was lit
Remember when we all really cared about our Yakarma? How as soon as anything remotely exciting happened on campus, everyone was on yak talking about it? It was like the whole school was in on an inside joke when most of us hadn’t met face-to-face and it was just really really cool.
Being walking distance from so many good food places
What is life going to be when you can’t decide last minute that you want Chick-fil-A, Subway, or Wing Zone and are only a 5 minute walk away? We’re spoiled.
Living 10 minutes or less away from your friends
This one speaks for itself. We won’t realize how great it is until it’s not the case anymore.
Getting hyped for sports you don’t understand because it’s the Gators
I’m not a sports person but I know a lot of people at this school are. I’ve been to so many sporting events these four years though just because our school is so awesome that it’s fun to cheer them on even if you don’t understand the game. In all kinds of weather.
Gator Nights
Free movies, arts and crafts, and free food? Not to mention what a great bonding activity this was for you and your freshman roommate.
Passing by your old dorm
It’s crazy to pass by a place you used to spend all of your days and nights in and think you might never go back in there again. While it can be sad, it’s nice to pass by and remember all the good and bad times you had living in a small space with so many other gators. Again, the sense of community in the dorms can’t be beat either when all of us were getting up at noon on Saturday to drag ourselves to Broward.
The dining hall
Speaking of Broward (and Gator D), I’m surprised I’m even saying I’ll miss the dining hall when for a while I couldn’t wait to get to cook my own meals in the comfort of my apartment. The dining hall is another great memory though since all of us freshman got to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together every day. We all waited for those cookies together, stood in that Panini line, and ate way more than we needed to because we could.
Nothing beats the fact that we got an education from the best university in Florida and got to go to school on such a gorgeous campus. Besides the obvious reasons I’ll miss UF, I’ll miss these little things about it too.
As always, go Gators!
