October 26, 2007

we're coming home again

I miss the feeling of being able to wake up in the morning, look at the clock and decided I wasn't going to get up just yet.

This being homecoming weekend at the University of Illinois, it felt like an appropriate time to reflect on college.

There are a lot of things I don't miss about college. It feels nice to go home at the end of the day and not have to worry about everything I have to get done that night for the next day. I don't miss taking tests or trying to study for them. I don't miss worrying about grades or being able to register for the classes I need to take next semester.

But I miss being able to walk on the Quad between classes on a sunny day. I miss grabbing a cup of coffee at Espresso Royale in the Union on my way to work. I miss throwing on an orange t-shirt and heading to basketball games at Assembly Hall. I miss walking out of my room after being overwhelmed with homework at 1 a.m. to find my roommates all hanging out in the living room, taking a break from their work.

College was an important time in my life. I met people who are incredibly important in my life and became closer to people who already were important to me. I got an education that has enabled me to make a living — kind of — by writing, something I always said I wanted to do.

There were some mistakes I made that I'd like to be able to do over. There are probably a lot of things I could have done better. I could have tried harder to met more new people and get better grades. But when I think back on the four years I spent in Champaign-Urbana, the good memories far outweigh the bad. Even the times when I though I wasn't happy don't seem so bad in retrospect.

I guess there's not really a point to everything I'm saying. It's Friday and I'm bored at work. I'm going to be heading down to U. of I. for homecoming weekend as soon as I can. I guess I'm just feeling a little nostalgic. If you're still reading, thanks for humoring me.

Go Illini!

SONG OF THE MOMENT:
Lake Michigan - Rogue Wave

Posted by dpetrella at 12:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack