It was just nine months ago when I sat in my bedroom at home in Arcadia to pack my life into a few suitcases to fly east and move into my dorm at Princeton. And last week leading up to my flight back to LA, I, once again, packed my life into suitcases and boxes- this time to move to a downtown Manhattan apartment.
These last nine months have gone by so quickly, and my experience here on the east coast in has been truly transformative. If you told me last August that I would start calling Princeton my home, I wouldn’t believe you. But as I packed, watched my friends leave campus, and left Princeton myself on a cloudy Thursday afternoon for Newark Airport, I realized that Princeton has truly become my home away from home.
Somewhere between surviving Hurricane Katia on a week-long backpacking trip and spending late nights/early mornings writing papers in the Rocky-Mathey library, Princeton has managed to lead me on an unbelievable adventure of intellectual growth and personal development.
But what I’ve realized is that, though my classes and extracurriculars have been a huge part of my experience at Princeton, the defining aspects are really the simple, small, everyday moments. They seem insignificant at the time, but in retrospect, trigger powerful memories and smiles.
So let’s talk about those moments.
I still remember the restless butterflies in my stomach when my mom drove onto campus on move-in day. I smile thinking about the laughter and deep bond that followed the discovery of a misplaced item of clothing the night before we left for OA. I still can’t believe a morning jog down to Lake Carnegie was the catalyst for a lifelong friendship.
It’s about those lazy afternoons spent lounging on Alexander Beach just because it was a beautiful day. It’s about those late-night talks that happen when you should be doing homework. It’s about running outside at 3am because it started snowing (you don’t understand how exciting snowfall is for Californians).
Thank you to the friends who brought me Starbucks before my all-nighters in the Buyers basement. Mock trial prep on Friday nights/Saturday mornings in various hotel lobbies was painful at the time, but hilarious now (New Haven La Quinta, anyone?). And who can forget lolling through finals period with caffeine and unjustified study breaks? Lolling is now my favorite pastime.
It’s fascinating that such small, seemingly insignificant moments can come to define an entire year. Looking back, these moments, both good and bad, come together to breathe life, energy, and depth into my journey to find a home away from home.
And I have found that home.
