This past weekend, I unexpectedly had to leave school for a family emergency. I had a ton of responsibilities that I needed to manage, but it was my family.
Being away from school is hard because I can’t be everywhere I wish all at once. I grew up in the type of family where we did everything together. We had family dinners, movie nights, dance parties, and so much more. We are the type of family where everyone sits in the living room together, watching tv, playing games, doing homework, and everything in between. The only time spent apart was at school or activities, but if there was a game or performance, you saw all of us there. We would drive each other crazy with the chaos and the sound but it felt like home.
Now it’s hard being apart from them and knowing I can’t drop everything for them as I used to. The second I used to get a text you saw me spring up, get my keys, and drive wherever I was needed. Now I have to wait for train times and know I won’t be there before it’s too late. Dealing with this kills me. Knowing that I’m an hour and a half drive to them but trains and delays separate us by five hours. Thankfully, I’ve met some really great people here at Stevens that are there for me, no questions asked.
When I found out that my mom was in the hospital, I panicked. I was ready to pack my bag and leave at 1 a.m. I didn’t know what I could do, but I needed to do something. My friends persuaded me to stay until I knew more information. I panicked a lot and then started studying for the exam I had the next day. I stayed for the exam, and after learning she needed surgery, I hopped on the next train. I still had responsibilities for clubs and schools left unattended, but I had to go home.
Thanks to my friends on campus, everything is going to be okay. There are some really great people here, people who offered to watch my print for engineering, people who helped me weigh the pros and cons of
leaving, people who showed up for me, no questions asked. Thank you to those people and thank you to this campus for bringing them to me.
