December 11, 2015. On December 11, 2015, I was sitting at home on my couch having just gotten home from school on a Friday. My dad was out running errands and my mom was at work as I was scrolling through my phone. I opened my email and saw something from Boston University with the subject line reading “Your Boston University Admission Decision.” Thinking I wasn’t supposed to get my decision for at least another four days, I figured it was another email about deadlines or promotional material to get me to apply, but just to be safe I opened it.
In the next half an hour I screamed, cried, and shook as I called my mom to let her know I had gotten into my dream school and that I would be moving to the city I had fallen in love with when I was 12-years-old. It’s crazy to think it’s been almost two and a half years since I received that email and even crazier to think that in eight days I will be halfway done with college.
Being only 19, it’s hard for me to imagine that in two years I’ll be getting ready to go out into the “real world,” but that’s the reality. So, now that I’m halfway through college, I want to reflect on what I’ve learned and look ahead to what I want to accomplish in the next two years.
The past two years have had some of my highest highs and lowest lows and have introduced me to so many new things, people, and interests and it has been a wild ride in Boston so far. I’ve made friends I hope to have for the rest of my life and I’ve lost people who I considered to be like sisters. I’ve joined a sorority, changed majors three times, and fluctuated on the scale more than any other point in my life.
Emotionally, I’ve been pushed to and past my limits and, while it’s taught me so much, it’s been painful to go through. But, I’ve learned to try and find the silver lining in situations and to look at every situation and relationship as a lesson and figure out what it has taught me about other people, myself, and what I want and need in my life to ensure I’m happy and living my best life.
Academically, I’ve faced quite a few challenges, some of which I’ve passed with flying colors and others that I have failed miserably. I’ve gone from wanting to be a doctor and having Chemistry 101 ruin my life and my GPA, to wanting to be a family court lawyer and major in English, all the way to wanting to be a sports journalist. I’m thinking that last one is gonna stick because it combines my three passions—writing, sports, and stating my opinion—and I’m having an amazing time learning about it, even though it’s a struggle and I still have no idea how to properly write a press release.
These two years have taught me so much about making a dorm into a comfy space I want to call home, how to efficiently pack for a weekend getaway, and how to be comfortable being by myself. And I have so much I still want to learn and do over the next two years.
I want to raise my GPA (@grade deflation), get more involved in my sorority, and travel all around Europe when I’m abroad in London in the fall. Being on your own can be so scary, but I’m trying to embrace it in Boston and I’m hoping to embrace it in London when I can’t call my mom whenever I want to complain. I want to take a class in an area I’m completely unfamiliar with and go to a place in Boston I’ve never been so I can see more of and appreciate all the parts of this beautiful city that I’ve come to call home. I want to eat my way through the North End and spend my summer studying in Science Park because it’s so open and green. I want to go to a Bruins playoff game even though ticket prices make me wanna cry.
More than anything else I want to say yes to as many things as I can because college is the last time we get to be kids and screw up without horrible consequences. I want to be able to come home at 2 AM without having to worry about getting up for work and I want to make the most of the best years of my life. I know it all sounds so cliché and I lowkey hate myself for that, but it’s true. You get out of college what you put into it and I intend on putting 110% in over the next two years and I can’t wait to see where this adventure takes me.
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