Category: Honors Abilities

The journey started 3600 miles from home. The climb itself spanned 3560 ft. Backpack, snacks, water bladder? Check. The trail started off gradually, surrounded by cascading mountains dotted with fluffy white sheep. Steps grew larger as our group traversed the mountainside. Vibrant, green landscapes turned white as we were swallowed by the fog. Light breathing became heavy panting as the summit grew nearer. Large steps were replaced by climbing as the terrain difficulty increased. Signs led the way and boosted morale until the last step. At last, I straightened my back and took a deep breath. This was it: Snowdon. 

Nerds, Cosplay, Vendors, Videogames, and best of all celebrity voices! That’s one checkmark for the bucket list! My heart was pounding, both legs swaying my body back and forth, eyes couldn’t focus, and time felt too slow! The nervousness suddenly kicked in. What would he be like? Would he think I was cool to talk to? Would I be able to afford the prices for signing stuff or pictures? What should I say? And there I was standing face to face with the Blue Blur himself. Chill, positive, energetic, and way past cool! Everything just fell into the right place.

Week 0 at Michigan Tech, I joined one of my roommates Joe for lunch and sat with his friends. They shared a story about a late-night “traveler” who wandered into their room uninvited. At first, the silhouette by the bed seemed like a dream—until the traveler spilled bodily fluid (urine) across the carpet. Two hours of scrubbing later, Joe’s friend knew him much better than they wanted. Listening, I realized college isn’t just classes and roommates, it’s also the unpredictable encounters that become instant cautionary tales. The moral? Never leave your door unlocked at night. Some lessons arrive messier than others.

Though I have only been away from you for 2 months, the moment I pulled into the driveway by surprise coming home for thanksgiving break, I felt the typical weight of the old memories reminding me of why I push at MTU. Then I get hit with the weight of your little body running up to me, jumping up on to me and you wrapping your legs and arms around me in a much needed bear hug. Though it hurts to leave you, I have to remember why I went in the first place. That’s you.

Michigan Tech is far away from everything and has long difficult winters. The drive to get to campus is an exam that does not give any credit. Due to these hardships that most other college students don’t go through, there is a certain pride with going to college in the UP. Similar to how trades people say everybody else has soft hands, living in the UP can make a person laugh at most other college student’s winters. These hardships that all MTU students have to deal with to perform simple daily tasks are the key to the sense of community.

In the second semester of my first year, things were going well. I was preparing for a Materials Science exam that night, and I had spent the last two evenings studying hard. After I finished my classes, I jokingly texted my friend asking if he was ready. I was not prepared for his response.

“It was yesterday.”

“WAIT WHAT!?” I replied.

In a panic, I wrote an email to my professor explaining the situation, hoping and praying that he would cut me some slack. Thankfully, he let me retake it. I then put all my future exams on my calendar.

Coming to Tech was scary but I was excited. Moving 8 hours away from all that I knew for a fresh start at me. When I got here meeting new people was the easy part, getting over the homesickness was the hard part. For every new memory that I made there was a part of me that wished that someone from home was there too. Missing the little girls that I babysat, missing my little sister, missing my aunt. It will be ok I tell myself. You will see them soon.