Wednesday, May 22, 2013

"In the summer, the song sings itself." - William Carlos Williams

My freshman year of college is over. How did that happen?

Looking back on the year, I like to think of it as a marathon: Long and challenging, but unbelievably rewarding.

It was with a heavy heart (and heavy eyelids) that I left Notre Dame at 6 AM last Saturday. I'm a week out of school and I already miss my friends, my 4 cubic feet of dorm room, playing frisbee at dusk, lighting candles at the Grotto, waking up to see the Golden Dome out of my window, debating with myself about whether to bring an umbrella in my backpack (and then regretting leaving it in my room), late night hallway chats, getting packages, free t-shirts, s'mores in the dining hall, football, LaFun Runs, complaining about homework, reading (and writing for) the Observer, even doing my laundry....okay, maybe not doing my laundry.

I think if I miss school when I'm at home more than I miss home when I'm at school, I can consider it a good year.

And I'm only a freshman! (Wait...now I'm a sophomore. NO!) I can't imagine being a senior and parting with all of that stuff forever! 

I can't wait to be back at Notre Dame, and I actually will be there in the not-too-distant future. I will be a resident counselor in the Summer Scholars program from June 30 to July 13, working with gifted high school students from around the country and the world. I'm counting down the days until I arrive in South Bend and reunite with some of my Notre Dame friends.

That being said, summer is quite nice. I get an almost unfair amount of sleep, my family constantly tells me they're glad I'm home, and I can hang out with "home friends" a lot more often. I'm glad that the weather is warm, because after a winter of being bundled up like an Eskimo, I plan to wear shorts and sandals all summer.

Summer challenge: Wear only Sperry Top-Siders,
Birkenstocks, or Chacos every day

It's gonna be great.