Isn’t it funny how we tend to want things at the wrong times? A week ago I was raring to get home and as far away from finals as possible, and now—well, the seeds of yearning for my extraordinary university are already in place. We’re just barely a week into summer vacation and I’m already dreaming about the day I return to ND in the fall. Here are the top five things I frankly did not think I would be missing so soon:
1. Stairs
Living on the third (or fourth) floor of an older dorm seems like it would be a hassle, and it is most days. But boy is it a miracle worker on the thighs! Add on speed-walking to class and dinner at the dining hall on the other side of campus, and I almost had a full workout built into a normal day’s work. At home, I sleep and sit (and drive, not walk), but my yet-unquenchably vibrant youth can only take such a sedentary existence for so long.
2. Squirrels
This one is a surprise given that I’m not even a fan of these creatures. But there’s something to the habit of ND students cooing over squirrels at any time of day, even when they are such a regular fixture on campus, that makes my heart all fuzzy. Scorpions just don’t offer that same cute factor.
3. The Lakes
Compared to living in the desert like I do, the lakes are a haven: the cool shadows from the trees, the turning leaves, the soft path, the subliminal view of the Dome, all of it. Jogging on the sizzling sidewalk of a busy street during rush hour in one-hundred degree weather just does not have the same ambiance as a lake run.
4. Flex Points
Being away from campus for three months is the closest taste of the “real world” we get until graduation. Thus far, I am not quite a fan. As much as I relish a preponderance of fresh produce in the house, Starbucks has its place in the world. Maybe if I offer the barista my NDID they will accept the $4 balance on my account?
5. The People
Apart from exulting the wonder of our campus itself, the people we encounter there are the ones who make our experience truly heart-wrenching when we reflect on it in retrospect. They’re the ones who make playing with squirrels fun, whom we meet for coffee before class, for whom we are willing to eat at the other dining hall one night if it means eating with them. The fact that we miss them points to the tremendous growth we have undergone with them. Now that—growing up and growing deeper with friends—that’s what I’ll be missing the most this summer. I’m sure of it.