Do you think two and a half years is enough time for a place to change your life? 

I know it is.

It’s been one year, 365 days, 8760 hours since I graduated from Boston College. One year since I walked across a stage as my name was mispronounced. One year since I stepped over the threshold from student to alum. And one year of missing everything about this place I have come to love.

You might be wondering why its two and a half years and not four, well I transferred to Boston College in the middle of my sophomore year. I moved in right before everyone had returned from winter break. It was eerily quiet as snow began to blanket the campus while I lugged my belongings into a room that was already filled with life from its seven other occupants.

Gasson Hall

It was a whirlwind of events that had me moving into a different dorm, not four weeks after finishing finals at another university, a whirlwind of events that changed my life.

To fully embrace an experience, not only do you have to open yourself up to the opportunities that come your way, but also go after the ones you see lurking in the background. Once I figured this out, I began to see the magic that is Boston College. I found it in the little things, the aroma of the Chocolate Bar, the way Gasson glistens in the sunlight, the quietness of a snow-covered campus.

Best Of What's Around

A place is nothing without its people. My experience at Boston College was shaped by the people; the woman in the dining hall, my roommates, the custodian that I said hello to every day of senior year, my professors, my classmates, the random person who held the door open, my friends. They shaped my experience at Boston College, they impacted my time there, and they impacted me.

Only a certain environment can foster classmates and random roommates to become lifelong friends, for professors to become mentors. Thank you Boston College for putting these people in my life, I am forever grateful.

BC Graduation 17

So Boston College, thank you.

Thank you for the life-changing people, the snowy winters, the challenging classes, the breathtaking campus, the home games at alumni stadium, the thought-provoking lectures, the meaningful conversations, the drive for excellence. Thank you for changing my life for nothing but the better.

A place can change your life, Boston College changed mine.

Stay Swell~

Originally published at www.stayingswell.com