Wednesday evening I left campus for the first time to go home. I had been planning this weekend before I even started my classes. I was so obsessed with the thought of going home and seeing everyone I missed. I even kept a countdown on a small blackboard near my bed so I wouldn't forget how many days I had left until I could go home to my bed and my family.
I had two classes to get through and my day was going by very slow. I just wanted to leave and seeing parents in their cars waiting for their children to leave class wasn't helping my day go by faster. Eventually I got out of my last class and had two hours until I had to be at the bus terminal. I remember what I did, but I'm pretty sure I just laid around on my bed waiting for my ride to show up. As soon as I got on the bus I ran into someone who also lives on my floor in my residence hall. We ended up sitting next to each other on the ride to NYC. The bus ride wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I slept for most of the time and when I wasn't sleeping, I was listening to music or on social media. Traveling alone for the first time wasn't that exciting to be honest. It was kind of boring not having anyone to talk to, mainly because the girl who lives on my floor was busy doing homework so we barely talked. Once we reached Penn Station in Newark, NJ I was more than excited to be home. I was less than an hour away and the closer we got to NYC, the happier I felt. The first thing I saw was the World Trade Center building, it was towering above everything else. As we got closer, I could finally see all of the Manhattan skyline outside of my window. In that moment I almost cried, because of how happy I was to be home.
Arriving at Port Authority Bus Terminal and being surrounded by heaps of people all around me was probably the most comforting thing I've felt since I've left home. Thankfully my parents were waiting outside for me in the car as soon as I arrived. Stepping out into Times Square and finally being back in my city and with my family was possibly the happiest I've been the past two weeks.
