New class schedules. New professors. New housing assignments. New roommates. New faces on campus.
A fresh start.

There’s something re-energizing about the start of a new school year. A kind of giddy excitement that makes moving back to Northeastern an enjoyable experience.

For the past three years, I have appreciated moving back to campus when Labor Day rolled around. Leaves begin to fall on the patches of grass where sunbathers once lay. Boots and clogs start to replace the short-lived flip-flops that define those lost summer days. And friends at home have already packed their bags and returned to their collegiate lives.

Don’t get me wrong, no one enjoys packing and unpacking the car, trekking through campus with overflowing bins (with items you may or may not want mom and dad to see) and eating lunch in the Curry Student Center with your family while spotting friends, acquaintances and people you would rather avoid. But those treacherous four hours of moving in are worth it for the following eight months.

After being on co-op in New York City during the spring semester and home for the summer, I was more than eager to move back to Boston this year. Being away from Northeastern for eight months made me realize how enjoyable life is being able to breathe Husky air.

And while I was away, I actually missed the minor annoyances that I think define life as a Husky:  standing outside Matthews Arena on frigid winter nights for a single ticket to see Northeastern play Boston University in hockey; waiting in winding lines at Stetson East for those beloved taco nights; waking up to the sounds of the T as it passes through Huntington Avenue; and applying for the next round of co-op positions during the first month of school, after what seems like only a few weeks after your previous job ended.

Whether you’re living with your friends, strangers or alone this year, your college years are the ones to seize. One day you’re walking into a new class, eager to fast-forward to the weekend, and the next moment you’re packing your bags to return home for winter break, longing for the earlier days of the semester when you could taste the freedom of being away from home.

If you’re new to campus, or even if it is your fifth or sixth year as a Husky, I encourage you to take advantage of all that Northeastern has to offer. There are countless options for student groups and sports teams that cater to students’ various needs and passions. Make it a goal this semester to step outside your comfort zone and talk to someone new, join a student group or try out for a sport you didn’t play in high school.

Not only will you be part of a community of students, but you will meet new people. In addition, you will have the opportunity to gain knowledge about an unknown subject – a foreign language, a different culture – and simultaneously learn something new about yourself. College is about creating yourself and exploring new ideas and activities, so make the most of this year.

After working in the “real world” on co-op for six months, I was, embarrassingly, excited to start classes and meet new peers this semester. However, I have already started voicing to my roommates how I yearn to return to the glorious days of co-op in New York City where homework and exams were worries of the past.

And I know I will complain more than once this semester about not having access to wireless Internet service in the common room, about the walk from Columbus Avenue to my classes in West Village during the cold weather and about the need to redesign myNEU to avoid system overload during class registrations and ticket sales. These improvements will come with time, we hope.
But despite the minor frustrations, it’s always nice to return to life as a Husky. Welcome home.

– Michele Richinick can be reached at [email protected].