I knew that I missed being at Emory but I don’t think I fully understood how much. Just being on campus again took my mind back to many different warm experiences that only people at Emory can relate to. I also realized what or, rather, whom I am so attached to at Emory. Over the past year or so I’ve talked about how much I missed our Atlanta sunshine or the beautiful greenery and landscape or even the amazing events and programs that are all very “Emory.”
But actually being back on campus, it wasn’t weather, the trees, or the scene – it was the people I missed. I really missed the people at Emory. There is something special about the connections you make in college. Some of the best and enduring friendships that are born over the four years there are with some of the least likely of people (at least that’s how it seemed at the start).
When I think about Emory and my college experience more generally, sure, I’ll remember the academic and intellectual challenge; the self-growth and self-awareness; the possibility and opportunity; and all of the other things that have made my experience a great one. But of all these things I will always think about the connections I have made and the relationships that have come from them.
This has been one extraordinary journey and I could not have chosen a better place or better people to take it with.