On my second full day at Scripps, I stood outside of Clark hugging my mom and choking back tears. She was heading to the airport to fly back to Missouri and I was SO NOT READY for this reality check. I was homesick, my roommate was weird, my dorm was a labyrinth, my professors were intimidating, and I couldn’t remember anyone’s name. Yet, in a random moment of wisdom, I told my mom, “I can’t wait for 3 weeks from now.” I figured in 3 weeks homesickness would’ve worn off, my roommate’s weirdness would be less obvious, I’d be able to navigate my dorm, my professors would seem friendlier, and names would get easier.

You might be wondering why I’m telling a story from 3+ years ago? Well, I’ve thought about that moment many times over the past week. Scripps started out as this scary foreign place and some time between that hug with my mom and right now, it became my home. (In case you were wondering, it may have taken more than 3 weeks…)

Yeah, that’s cheesy, and I’m only kind of sorry about the sappiness, because it’s what you get for reading a blog by a second semester senior.

College is an odd place where friends, family, academics, and work merge; and it’s really quite hard to separate them. Sometimes it’s awkward, like when your professor sees your running to the dining hall in your PJs because you’re about to miss breakfast or when you’re hanging out in Seal Court with your significant other and your boss walks by… But other times it’s really great.

Last week was full of reminders of the “really great.”

It’s the time of year where seniors have to start making really terrifying decisions and I can’t imagine making them without the support of the amazing people here. The weird roommate from first year is still the one who gives me pep talks when I stop believing in myself. Those people whose names I couldn’t keep track of on that first day are some of the same people I eat lunch with twice a week. I call many professors by their first names and I know to make a beeline to the FGSS office when I need advice and perspectives. I spend inordinate amounts of time in CP&R, an office that could seem scary, yet all of the staff members manage to navigate their roles as my bosses and advisors, while also being the most supportive and empowering friends/mentors I could have hoped to have.

As for the other scary aspects, I now get homesick when I leave Scripps. And in regards to the dorms, I can safely maneuver through most of them. (Though I have yet to discover where Dorsey begins and Browning ends.)

So much has changed since that second day when I hugged my mom goodbye. I gained a home, a sense of independence, and a new type of family. As awkward as it can be to merge all my worlds, it’s hard to imagine life without the weird roommate living just feet from me, or the long lunches (that consist of mostly ice cream) with my friends, or the constant inspiration I get from the CP&R staff.

I know that all of these people, and more, helped get me to where I am today and they’ll help me make it to the finish line so I can walk down Elm Tree Lawn in my green robe. So I guess I’m writing this sappy post to make sure they know that I appreciate absolutely everything they’ve done, and because even after I’m holding my diploma I don’t want to imagine my life without them.