Missing Wooster

Lately, I've been missing my alma mater, my nurturing mother, The College of Wooster. I decided to make a little bullet list of my most prevalent reasons for missing it, now that I've been in the "real world" for over a year. 

• Opinions: At Wooster, I had the ability to present my opinion to a class, a professor, a stranger, and  my friends. I was able to have a conversation about it, with good counter opinions and amazing educated insight. I was enlightened by these conversations, I was entertained by them, and most importantly, I was never judged. We could discuss topics and events current and past, and never would a foul word or a degrading name be strewn. Now that I'm out in the real world, it feels like I have no one to talk to about my opinions. No one is accepting, no one has the drive to educate or to be educated. It feels like evangelizing. Everyone already "knows everything."
• Cohabitation: Living with people is always fun. When those people are your parents, meh. I miss the cohabitation at Wooster because you were always with someone you didn't mind seeing or being with. If you lived in a dorm, you could run down the stairs, down the hall, and knock on their door at the oddest of hours. If you lived in a house, you could have everyone you wanted all in one place. There is an open door policy. "Stop by whenever you want," "Why didn't I see you last night, Wes?" And the conversations and dance parties are always endless. Plus, my boyfriend lived a 4 minute walk away, instead of a 4 (going on 9) hour drive away. Living with my immediate family back in the real world, I feel kind of lonely; yes, I like to spend time with my family, but they're not who I crave.
• Campus: Living in the 7th largest city in Ohio does not make it any more fun than a small town. Yes, we have the Metroparks, but they're not within walking distance. At Wooster, if I wanted to get out and experience nature, it was right outside of my door, and it was is beautiful. Trees, flowers, brick paths, gorgeous architecture, and I always felt safe, no matter what hour of the day I happened to be strolling. There was always somewhere to go at the end of my walk. Old Main for some pound cake, Lowry Cafe for some coffee and chatting, or the library for some studying and writing. In Parma, I feel like I have no journey, and no destination, so I sit here and blog instead. 
• Learning: I've always known that I love to learn. When I was at Wooster, there were so many other things to do, that I often took learning for granted. I was taking classes specializing in something that I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, yet I only put half of my effort into them because I was co-occupied with other things going on in my busy college lifestyle. I don't regret doing extra-curricular activities, but I do regret not appreciating my classes and building better relationships with my professors. I'm bored when I'm not learning. I miss taking notes in a fresh notebook with my favorite pen. And as weird as this sounds, I miss writing papers. I try to go about learning things on my own, but when there's no structured syllabus or deadlines, it just falls through. For that reason, I am so anxious to get in to grad school and start doing what I love again. This time, I'm all in.
• Music: I've been playing music since I was in 5th grade. Ever since then, I have been in a school band, which was always in my life's schedule. At Wooster, music was also a part of my schedule, and from which most of my friends arose. Lately I've been feeling like something is missing in my life, and I finally pinpointed it on playing music. I'm not the greatest flute player, and I can't just pull it out and jam, but I do enjoy playing. I miss playing in a group of people that I adore. I miss wearing the kilts, and I miss the bagpipes. I've thought about joining a community band, but my wavering work schedule just pulls me farther from the idea. 

I never meant for this blog post to be depressing, or a woe-is-me. I meant for it to show how much I miss an academic, independent life at a beautiful institution. While I will continue to miss the campus and the experience, probably until I die, I'm so motivated for my future, and thankful for what Wooster has given me.

I know I'm not the only one who misses Wooster, so if you want, feel free to share what you miss in the comments!