First Person: Finding Home
For the past four years, when asked where I go to college, the responses are the same. “Woah,” they’ll say getting wide-eyed, “You weren’t kidding when you said Upstate New York.” Nope, I wasn’t, but that’s what I love about St. Lawrence. We may be located “in the middle of nowhere” but that’s what makes SLU such a special corner of each of our worlds.
From the moment I stepped onto campus, that rainy, humid day in the summer of 2014, I immediately felt the overwhelming sense of community. This feeling radiated from every classroom to every patch of damp grass full of Adirondack chairs, to the large inviting tables at Dana Dining Hall. Now, four and a half years later, I can say that my feelings of community and the sense of support from this campus have only continued to grow.
Within the first couple of minutes of my first year, I had already made friends, many who I am still close with today. I already had a sense of trust in my Orientation Leader, a trust that has only grown stronger. In FYP, you understand the idea of growing close with the people who live around you. You are able to establish the confidence to knock on their door anytime, knowing that there will be a familiar face welcoming you in. Establishing a closeness with neighbors is something I took with me throughout my four years as I created my own path on campus. My sophomore year, the senior who lived in a room across the hall is my best friend to this day.
In a way, I see the St. Lawrence campus as its own world. You have everything you could possibly need for four years between the athletic complex and Bookstore on Park Street to the trails of the enchanted forest. Being an Admissions Ambassador, I am often asked the question from nervous parents about what their children will be able to do during their free time in such a confined place. In these instances, I list off events and activities that take place around campus on a daily basis, and traditions such as Rail Jam or the Candlelight Ceremonies that we hold yearly. However, I believe that there is always something to do because of the people and relationships that are created and maintained from within. You are never bored here; there is always a smile from a member of a class you took or a laugh from the person who you are sitting across from in front of a fireplace during a brisk winter morning.
Establishing these relationships is what has made my time here so memorable. They are the people who I will continue to cherish for the rest of my life, knowing that in our little nook of the world, we have established a lifetime of memories and friendship. So, is this why it seems as if everyone on this campus marries each other? Who knows. But what I do know is that even though there may not be a Chipotle around the corner, or a large city a few miles away, this place is something so special, and I will continue to treasure my time here and the relationships I have made for the rest of my life.
