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Glasgow, UK

Last Thursday, something really special happened. Our school hosts some night art classes for the adults that live in town. One night after I finished my work in the studio—around 9 pm—I wandered by their classroom and decided to check it out. There was a woman in her forties who was originally from Guangdong, China. We started chatting and, once she learned I had yet to eat anything, she insisted on letting me have her homemade dinner and snacks. It was such a touching moment, but I never saw her again.

Puno, Peru

My dad can’t live in Puno. The mountains are too tall, and his lungs are bad. Last year, we packed up our lives in Puno and moved to La Paz. I was the only new kid at school. It was so terrible that my mom and I moved back to Puno, so I could go to school with my old friends. I rarely see my dad anymore.

Notre Dame, IN

I miss the high stress of finals. I used to love how everyone would stress out together and we wouldn’t sleep at all. Now it’s just me, but at least I’m sleeping, mainly because all my finals are take home and spread out and I had 3 finals week and one due the week before and they’re all papers and due Mon, Wed, Fri evening/night. I miss my friends. I miss getting lunch with people. I miss my bed and room and school bc I have an amazing mattress topper and a really nice single. I miss parties with friends. I miss all the fun that used to happen and make school more of an enjoyable experience rather than just school y nada más. I miss having access to more clothes rather than just what I packed which are winter clothes and it is no longer winter. I miss bonding experiences with friends and the choir tour I would have gone on to Italy and Slovenia for which I still get STEP emails for. I miss campus food. Ya I miss like everything, but most of all, I miss social interaction.

Notre Dame, IN

Oh my gosh “are there things I miss?”, of course there are things I miss! I miss literally everything! I miss my old personality and my usual self and the more energy I had rather than being a sloth and beating myself up for not having enough energy. I miss my friends and people most of all, and physical touch. I am oh so lonely, I barely see my roommate and haven’t carried out a conversation with a real life person since the first week of school. If I do talk to people, it’s over the phone or over Zoom or FaceTime. But I also have kind of avoided being in contact with people to the extent I usually was because they always want to know where I am or how I’m doing and I don’t enjoy explaining that I don’t have a good home situation and am therefore not at home. Like I like to pretend I’m fine and have resources and am happy. But that’s kind of hard so I haven’t been reaching out as much because I don’t want to expose myself and people to ask me questions.

Knoxville, TN

I am the younger of two siblings, and I was always the one who had the most trouble with education. During high school I found out I was struggling with depression and was constantly stressed and anxious. My first year of college was the worst. I had nowhere to go, and felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. I struggled to get through most days and even considered drastic measures. This continued into sophomore year, until I found my people. I began the process to be accepted into a small program at my school which was a grueling process. But I was accepted, and quickly became close with a small group in the program. These people pulled me up and helped me everyday. We told each other everything and lifted one another up. If one of us was going through something, someone was always there to help you through it. I was not one for big social gatherings, and survived off of close small groups of friends. And this is what I found. We spent every day together and learned the deepest parts of each other. They’re my best friends and will continue to be for years down the road. That’s the one thing I’m most thankful for from my experience.

New York, NY

I miss in person classes and feeling like I am on a schedule and on top of my assignments. I also miss living at college and being in an environment where everyone is doing the same things as me. It is more motivating being surrounded by students instead of being home where I’m the only kid still having a lot of school work. I also miss just being with my friends and having fun doing things that have nothing to do with class or grades. 

New York, NY

My independence is the biggest one. I miss my casual acquaintances that I’m not “friends” with but still enjoy chatting with occasionally. I miss my professors’ being able to read the room through our body language and understand if we are with them/understand the concept they’re explaining.