Remember a Day

Last weekend I got to show some of the new friends I met this year around my former playground. It was great to show my new friends what my old life was like at Notre Dame (where I went to college, and where I ruled the school).

I get sad every time I go back to visit campus. I visit way too often, and I think I am going to start crying every time I see that golden dome. I am one of those annoying people who idealizes college. In my mind, I was never unhappy, never stressed, never bored, never up all night studying, never hungover.

I know none of this is true, so I'm going to challenge myself. I've decided to stop looking at my old photos of me in ridiculous costumes, stop thinking to myself in the middle of the day: "If this was last year, what would I be doing right now?" (9 times out of 10 it would be sleeping or watching Gilmore Girls), and also I will  stop referring to those I know who graduated this year as juniors (in my head, me and my friends will always be seniors, so everyone a year below me is forever a junior, I know it's obnoxious).

So from now on, well for at least a few days, I will focus on what I don't miss about college rather than what I miss. Here are the few things I came up with:

• I do not miss when you would run into someone on campus that you do not want to see. I'm ashamed to admit it, but there were many times when I pretended not to see someone, or went completely out of my way to avoid someone. You don't have to worry about this when you live in Chicago, you're not supposed to make eye contact.
• I do not miss when you go to the dining hall alone, and are completely happy going to eat by yourself, and then someone you only kind of know, insists that you join them. I'm sure I'm guilty of doing this to someone else, plenty of times. But when I'm okay with being by myself, I think everyone else should be too.
• I do not miss the awkwardness of not knowing how to address professors. "Professor ____" sounds too wizardy, "Dr. _____" could offend those without a PhD, Mr. or Mrs. is just not what you do, and calling them by their first names always made me giggle.
• I do not miss those kids in class who drive you crazy. Sometimes, there would be a kid in class that I just didn't click with. I didn't know them, I didn't like them, I didn't dislike them, but we just never agreed on anything in class during discussion. They always raised their hand right after I said something. They always disagreed with me. It was really awkward to see them at bars. I don't miss them.
• I do not miss trying to understand football. I'm smart, but I have wikipedia'd "Football" too many times to count, and I still don't get it. I probably never will, I can live with that. I loved going to games and getting tossed in the air when we got touch downs. But I cannot stand a dude in blue and gold face paint and beer breath trying to explain to me what makes special teams special.

But I miss everything else.