If you had told me this summer that I would be at Penn State until late November, I would have called you crazy. It seemed unlikely that we would be on campus for any of this semester, let alone 3 months of it. But here we are 13 weeks later packing our bags to go home for Thanksgiving, not for Covid, and I’m extremely thankful for that. My first semester on campus was as good as it could be with the circumstances. Even though classes are not over, there are a lot of aspects of living on campus that I will miss while I’m at home for the next two months.
The first being the new friends I’ve made these past few months. One of my main reasons for coming to a big school like Penn State was to meet lots of new people, and as much as Covid has complicated that this semester, I still was able to meet plenty of new friends on my dorm floor, in my classes and clubs, and around campus. Penn State students come from all around the world, so I’ve had the chance to meet friends from places that I would never been able to if I had been home for the semester. Whether they come from a different place in Pennsylvania, a different state, or a different country altogether, they have different perspectives and personalities than my friends in my hometown, so it’s interesting getting to know people who are different. As my friends have started to head home this week, it’s starting to set in that we really are going home and will no longer be in the small community that Penn State’s campus has given us for these past few months. I’m going to miss hanging out with my Penn State friends, but it’s good to know that my time here with them has just started. 2 months from now, we can pick back up where we left off for another semester of memories.
In addition to my friends, I will miss the campus itself while I’m home over break. Nothing beats walking through the Penn State campus on a nice day and seeing all of the beautiful buildings and scenery spread throughout every portion of the campus. Fall is my favorite time of year, and to be honest, it’s even better at Penn State than in my hometown. Watching all of the trees on campus turn from green to orange was one of my favorite parts about being here this semester. Also, I’m a cold-weather person, so I was in heaven during the crisp fall days on campus. When I’m back at home, not many places are within walking distance, so I won’t be able to spend as much time walking around as I have this semester. Sometimes on stressful days, walking through the campus and enjoying the weather is enough to turn my day around, so that’s definitely something I’m going to miss while I’m at home.
Overall, it was a great first semester on campus. Even with the circumstances, I was still able to meet new friends, make memories, and gain an appreciation for the campus that I’ll call home for the next few years. Although I’m excited to be at home with my family and hometown friends, there are some irreplaceable aspects of Penn State that I will undoubtedly miss.