you say goodbye, i say hello.

For university students, it's the time of year where we find ourselves saying goodbye. Goodbye to a year of academic difficulties, breakthroughs and memories. Goodbye to the classes we loved, and the ones we hated. Goodbye to the professor who gave us a C that one time. Goodbye to those bloody finals that we got no sleep over. Goodbye to your dorm room, your roommates, your hall mates, best friends and classmates. Goodbye to a year of memories, tears, adventures and lessons learned.

For me, this goodbye seems harder than ever. Not only am I saying goodbye to some of my best friends and people who I've come to call family, but I'm saying goodbye to the US, temporarily. Heading home never seemed as bittersweet as it does now.

I don't know when it happened, but my freshman year is over. It seems like just yesterday I moved into my quad, created my cozy little nook, and introduced myself to everyone. I remember orientation like it was last night - the first thing my OLs said when they met me was "Ooh! She has an accent, she's gonna be a fun one!". I remember the first awkward night hanging out with my roommates, the first time we'd all been without our family or friends. I remember all the small things like I've just done then, yet somehow 9 months flew by.

 

I've been incredibly lucky to meet some of the most amazing people my freshman year. When I moved in, I met the most wonderful RA - Erica - who I consider to be one of my best friends, and my future roommate, now. I met two remarkable Orientation Leaders - Lindsay and Jaime - , who were way too cool for school, and are my two biggest inspirations at Quinnipiac as they graduate in a few days. I met three girls who changed my lives - Stef, Jess and Maggie - the minute they walked through the doors of Commons 117. I met the best friend, partner in crime and soon my sister away from home - Carly - who I wouldn't have been able to survive being so far away from home without. I met the sweetest, most caring boy - Barron - who quickly became my best friend and the third in the Carly-Caroline-Barron trifecta. I met girls I never thought I would bond with - Sami - right down the hall.

I went from not knowing what to do and where to go, to having the strongest group of friends and support group I could ask for. Quinnipiac encouraged us to get involved, which led me to another family altogether - The Quinnipiac Chronicle. Who knew that writing for a newspaper could give me such a joy and such a feeling of home. I've met so many amazing people, learned so many things and got so many amazing opportunities from signing up on that first day.

But this post isn't all about goodbye. After 9 months, I can say that I've earned the next three months of vacation waiting for me. I'm more than happy to say hello to summer, my best friends and family at home, and my home in general. I'm ready to say hello to the new memories that await me, and the hours I'm going to spend updating my friends here after our months apart. I'm ready to say hello to some more change. (Ironic, huh?)

I'm still mind-blown that 9 months of work, friendship, parties, more work and memories has come to an end. When did I grow up?

I write this at 11 am on Friday May 10th, where I'm officially a Quinnipiac University sophomore, and I could not be more proud. If one year at Quinnipiac has allowed me to grow so much, then I can't wait to see what the next three years have in store for me.

So goodbye to all these things, I can't wait till I can say hello again in three months.

And sorry for the ten thousand pictures - it happens when you have friends like mine.

Welcome to another page in The Caro Diaries.