I can honestly say that I believe the end of this school year is more bittersweet than the end of my senior year of high school. For me, I had only one emotion while sitting through graduation, and that was euphoria.

I anticipated leaving New Jersey and finally going to college in a completely new place and meeting new people. Once the end of August rolled around, my friends were saddened to see me finally leave.

Now, as the college semester draws to an end, I can say that while I’m looking forward to not having to worry about homework and all-nighters, I’m reluctant to leave all the friends I’ve made in college.

Unlike high school, where we’re all in the same town, it becomes difficult to see people during breaks. It’s even more difficult in my case, as most of the people I’ve met up here live in the Midwest, a decent distance from the East Coast.

As the months went by, college and the dorms became my life, and my life back in New Jersey took a back seat and became my past. While I had close friends back home and will be glad to see them, I wish I could stay up here.

Granted, it’s only my first year of college, but there is not a single person I dislike up here. I can’t say the same for the people I went to high school with. Leaving high school was nothing but exciting, as I knew that I would still see my friends after that. However, not only do I enjoy spending every night with my friends in the dorms, but Marquette offers so much more to do than my hometown. That’s probably because it’s a suburb, where people live when they’re not at work in the city, rather than being a center of anything.

Even during winter break, I was counting down the days until I would be back in Marquette. While many of my friends in high school said graduation was bittersweet, I feel that the end of this school year is more bittersweet than that because I’m leaving a place I love.

While I’ll be back to NMU in August, it will still feel like a long time. I’ll be leaving the awesome people I’ve met in an awesome place where the largest freshwater lake in the world, a nice downtown area and perfect wilderness for hiking are all minutes away. Instead, I get to go to a place where the city is 45 minutes away, the ocean is two hours away and places to hike are an hour away.

In a little over a week I’ll be back in “Dirty Jersey” doing the same old thing, spending every second wishing I were back in Marquette and with my friends in college.

One day, I want to get my own place up here, so I won’t have to travel a thousand miles once school is closed.
For now, I’ll be making the best of my time away from NMU.