Throwback Thursday: Move-In Day(s)

If I hadn't noticed it before, I am definitely noticing now how much it is hitting me that I am not going back to Miami this fall.  Orientation training is off and the freshmen move in over the next couple of days, followed by upperclassmen later in the week.  What's even weirder is that when I move into my apartment next week, there won't be a welcome wagon of RA's and security assistants helping with the move-in process or hallway decorations or any of that.  It's my first time living in an actual apartment off-campus in a big city, and for that I am excited.

A lot has changed since my first move-in picture was taken in the lobby of Hecht Residential College freshman year.  I went from a bright-eyed, high-ponytailed freshman to a busy undergraduate student in a matter of weeks, getting involved in a wide variety of student organizations and even changing my major and minors over time.  I went from not knowing how to get to the most prominent building on campus to being able to walk campus in the dark by myself (not that I did it often...or ever, really).  I learned how to live with people and how to make & keep friends and how to be myself in such a diverse environment.  Freshman year me would hardly recognize the person who graduated just a few months ago and probably wouldn't even recognize herself now...then again, my sense of style did change over time, I learned how to use makeup to my advantage and I became more in shape thanks to running.  But even more so than the physical and outward changes came the confidence boosts and bursts of maturity here and there.  Without the four years that I had at Miami, I do not think that I would be nearly as ready or excited as I am to move to Washington, DC and continue my educational path.  So, in a sense I do kind of envy the freshmen moving into the dorms this week and beginning their Miami Hurricane experiences (because I would 100% do it again in a heartbeat), I can say from personal experience that the experiences I had & choices I made have allowed me to come so far from that blasting hot August day and transform me into the person I am now.  I wouldn't change it all for the world, and for that I am truly grateful.