It is Friday, October 25, 2019.
My day began at 9 AM. Because although classes do not resume until Monday, October 28, I need a few days to physically and mentally prepare myself. Because taking a week break indeed makes one, or at least me, a bit more sluggish than usual.
So, my fall recess concluded yesterday.
It is practically time to jump back into my coursework and finish the remainder of my first semester in college, which is only 7 more weeks (not including finals period), off strong!
7. More. Weeks.
Wild.
But before jumping back into the semester, I must do what I do best: reflect. And I am more than happy to share my (brief) reflection with you.
During the first half of the semester, I realized just how drastically different Oberlin College is from my high school. And I would not classify these differences as either good or bad, but rather as something I must continue to be aware of. One of the reasons that I am going to discuss in greater detail below happens to be my favorite thing about Oberlin and one of the main reasons why I am excited to head back to school: the people.
I have learned a lot from the people that I attended high school with; they contribute greatly to my perspectives, beliefs, and career aspirations. And for that I am thankful. But 99% of them are certainly not my friends and certainly not my most favorite people in the world. This is not to bash anyone in particular, but more so to express how different I was and currently am from my past peers.
This is not the case with most of the people I have encountered at Oberlin.
I have met some amazing folks. Whether I consider them friends, acquaintances, classmates, or mentors, they are, without a doubt, some of my favorite people to have existed. Even the people that I do not have some sort of relationship with or consider to be of the cohort of my favorite people, I admire nonetheless. It is difficult not to. And this is not to say that Oberlin students are perfect, because that would be far from true, but rather to make note of qualities that we all practically share.
In terms of seeing my family, though, being home for the week has been a memorable experience. I missed our laughs more than anything. I missed them, and I missed home. But home is where the heart is. And because I tend to leave pieces of my heart in multiple places, a piece of it is in Cleveland, Ohio, with the family I was born into, and a piece of it is now in Oberlin, Ohio. In fact, Oberlin College happens to be one of the few places to bring me the most joy thus far in my eighteen years of life. And I am grateful that it does because making a home of the environment which you will inhabit for quite some time is essential.
Overall, I am content with and thankful for this past week with my family. But I am excited to head back to Oberlin College, or what some people call The Bubble (unpacking this statement certainly cannot be done here, for that is an entire post of its own). Thankfully, because I am a first-year, I (hopefully) have a few more years until that bubble is popped. But no need to think too much about the popping of bubbles, symbolizing the conclusion of my academic experience at Oberlin College. Instead, I am focused on the present. And right now, I am filled with gratitude and prepared to successfully complete the rest of the semester.
