After months of commitment, confusion, learning and laughs the year comes to a closing. In fact this is the last blog I will be writing about my freshman experience here at Linfield. This is truly a bitter sweet moment because while I am very excited to move on to my sophomore year and pursue all my new endeavors, I have become so accustomed to my life now, that it’s hard to see things change. One of the hardest aspects about having the year come to an end is no longer living in the same hall with my closest friends. The bonds that this year built are so strong that I know they will surpass the test of time and distance. However, no longer will the much needed smiles and jokes on a stressful day be a door away. Many of my friends will be RA’s with me next year and therefore be living in separate halls. However, I also know that having a common activity such as working for residence life will allow us to stay connected.
Aside from the challenge of saying good bye to friends for the summer, I find myself full of enthusiasm for what is to come. I am especially looking forward to my summer job because I will be on campus working for the Upward Bound program. This program serves as a period where high school students can gain strengths in academics as well as character over their summer. I will serve as a counselor for this program and be able to continue the mentorship I love to do. After having attended our first staff meeting and getting to see all the other counselors, I can already tell we will be a very united bunch. While I am very lucky to be involved with this program it also means less time with my family back home over the summer. I have a very limited summer vacation between my UB summer job and RA training, both taking place in the summer. Yes it seems that the easy summers of just “hanging out” will no longer be as frequent but all in all I consider myself very privileged. I look forward to the few weeks I will have with my family and hope to leave as soon as finals are over.
And so it is that slowly the posters are coming down, clothe is getting put into boxes and the infamous “quad” begins to look more and more empty. Books stay piled on desks for finals and cameras come out for one last Kodak moment. My freshman year at Linfield… absolutely amazing!