Confession time: this is my first time missing Saint Marys.
I know, I know- what kind of smick doesn’t miss SMC until the summer before her senior year? Isn’t it a fact that all belles crave SMC and their sisters year round, and count the days until they’ve moved in for the fall? Maybe that’s true for some girls, but not for me. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Saint Mary’s. When I’m there, it feels like my home away from home. But, it took me awhile to find my niche.
Freshman year and homesickness hit me hard, and I never really felt like I found my smick-clique. Sophomore year, I was only on campus for the fall, and the classes I took that fall were the stressful ones I’ve ever taken, so needless to say, I wasn’t exactly in the “I love college mood!” Instead, biology and and economics (Sophia classes, ugh) left me feeling burnt out. When junior year rolled around, I worried that my workload would again be too much, and I felt disconnected, having only been on campus in the spring.
But, slowly, I found my footing at SMC. I finished my Sophias and took more classes in my major, Comm, which I’m 100% sure is the best major SMC offers, although I guess I’m a little biassed. I finally got to move into a single, giving me the peace and alone time I craved freshman and sophomore year. I grew close with a great group of girls. I got more involved with activities like The Observer, campus ministry and, of course, Her Campus. I had finally found my girl squad.
I finally started to feel that warm, fuzzy feeling all my fellow belles bragged about. And now, finally, FINALLY, I’m so super excited to be back on campus. I’m moving back in in just a few days to start my job as HoCro’s ministry assistant, and that move in date couldn’t come soon enough, even if it does mean saying goodbye to air conditioning. I feel ready to return home to SMC.
Belles, if you’re worried you haven’t had that “this is home” feeling yet, whether you’re a freshmen, sophomore, junior or even senior- don’t despair. You’re smick chick squad is out there waiting for you, it just sometimes takes time to find it.