Being an Alumna

I remembered all the comments and facts people told me about their lives once they became an alumnus, a corporate robot, a person of the real world as we were driving down to UVA for homecoming, and then again for Rotunda Dinner III. I guess it didn't really feel that different, except things have already changed. Dunkin Donuts has opened (still upset that it had to come AFTER I graduated), Nuddhist has opened, and the coffee shops names/owners have rotated, again. Oh wait, they finally added a Starbucks. I suppose it's delayed opening has probably saved my bank account a couple thousand dollars a year.

Some people I still know are there, thank god, or else I don't know who I would visit. The 3rd years last year are not 4th years and partying their brains out now that they have job offers. The once new 1st years are more enlightened 2nd years working hard and praying to get into the Comm School/declare their major. People have moved around from dorms to apartments with all the trimmings of a wet bar and outside bbq. The Lawn is the same, except for the fact that there's a new South Lawn that nobody really uses. My old apartment is still there, however, new people occupy it. My favorite restaurants are still intact: Mas, Orzo, El Dente, Shebeen, Al Hamraa, The Nook, and of course the late night pizza places.

Somehow when I looked around I wasn't running into people from class or former hallmates. This is the sad part and this is how you know you're an alumna. It actually happens when the alumni all pile back in for their semester events: homecoming football game (but it's really not about the football) and then Foxfields. But of course coming back and seeing old friends, new friends who could have been old friends if you knew them better in college, and just people in general is a lot of fun. How great is it to come back and do all your favorite activities at school without the actual worries of studying, class, and group meetings?

I could go to Pancakes for Parkinson's without having to bring a backpack and then staking out a spot in the library for the next few hours. I went to the football game didn't worry about the homework I neglected to do that day. I made as many plans with friends that could possibly fit in a 24 hour day without giving a second thought to the midterm I had the next week. These are the trade-offs of college and the working world. The brief respite when visiting your alma mater for homecoming weekend then bracing for reality when you head back on the road waving goodbye to old friends.