Thirteen days. As I’m sitting here writing this, I have a mere 13 days until I graduate and officially end my undergraduate studies. I have just over two weeks until I am expected to move out and move on, leaving Saint Louis University (SLU), my friends and my family behind for the next chapter of my life.
I am overjoyed about my next steps, moving to Boston alone to begin law school, but I am also bittersweet about the things I have to leave behind. As I begin to pack my apartment and finish my last essays, I want to reminisce on the last monumental and life changing four years at SLU (while I try not to cry).
When I first moved to SLU, I was nervous. I think I was most concerned about failing the mandatory Covid-19 test after driving three hours and waiting in line at Simon Rec for over two hours. After passing and moving in, I quickly made SLU and my single dorm in Grand Hall a home. While I didn’t have a roommate (or suitemate yet) I didn’t feel alone and I found a community on my floor.
At the start of second semester, my suitemate moved in and my life changed for the better. In my suitemate I found my best friend and someone to confide in with all of my life and college problems. She helped me get ready for all of my dates and debriefed with me afterwards. We got drunk together for the first time and had such an exciting night trying not to get caught by the RA who lived next door. We spent hours getting to know one another and built such a strong connection that we decided to be roommates the following year (well, housing decided we should share a room even though we requested singles). Living in the same room we grew closer than ever before. We stayed up late every night talking about anything and everything there was to know about each other. While we have grown apart the last two years, I miss my freshman year roommate and will always remember her fondly as one of my dearest friends and one of the best parts of SLU.
In my first two years here, no one in my friend group had a car, but we were determined to explore the city without dropping hundreds of dollars on Ubers. On one particular occasion, we tried to use the bus to get to a bar we had heard about, but between the Transit app being glitchy and the Grand Hall elevator taking forever, we were about to miss the last bus of the night. Instead of throwing in our hats and splitting the $15 Uber, we sprinted across the Grand Hall lawn, down Grand towards Lindell and somehow made the bus with seconds to spare. I don’t know why this memory means so much to me, but I hold it tight and laugh at our early SLU outings and our “city girl” adventures.
On the same note, I am so thankful for the chance to explore a new city with my closest friends. We never let a weekend slip by without doing something exciting and new. Seeing shows at the Fox Theatre, visiting the Arch, exploring the cat cafe on Cherokee Street, eating at new restaurants, finding new coffee shops and more, I can confidently say that we took full advantage of the city and its offerings. I will miss all the hidden gems St. Louis has to offer (especially Sasha’s on Shaw).
This year I had the chance to live with another friend and two strangers, and it has been the best year. I grew closer with my friend, having weekly breakfasts on the balcony and making coffee together every morning. I also made new friends in my roommates. I am cherishing every last second of this year because I know I will never live with my best friends again. I won’t have the chance to wake up and share the bathroom with her again, chatting about our late night findings or dreams. We won’t be able to convince each other to go out late at night for a sweet treat just because. We won’t plan our schedules together so we are in the same classes again. We won’t talk about which classes to skip so we can get lunch at Fresh Gatherings together. I won’t get the chance to add clothes to her laundry pile or ask if she wants me to wash her towels. It’s the little things that will hurt the worst leaving my best friend and roommates. This roller coaster of a college experience has ended with more than I could ever ask for and I owe so much to my best friend for this.
I can’t wait to move my tassel from right to left, but moving out and moving on from SLU may be the hardest thing I have ever had to do. The friends, memories and constant support will always keep me tied here even a thousand miles away. I will always be stuck between two worlds, so even if I love the next, SLU is the one I will miss.
So this is my goodbye to SLU, to St. Louis, to Missouri, and to the Midwest but also my hello to Northeastern University, to Boston, to Massachusetts and to New England.