In just a few weeks, I will officially be halfway through my final semester of law school. Knowing that my time at Loyola is coming to an end has me feeling somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, there’s a lot to be excited about: graduation (I’m especially looking forward to donning the gown and throwing my cap in the air à la Elle Woods), reuniting with friends and family I haven’t seen in almost a year, and generally just moving into the next phase of my life. On the other hand, I’m sad to leave this chapter behind, because there’s so much that I love about Loyola, and I already know I’ll miss it all so much come graduation.
I’ll miss the campus itself, which is just the right size: large enough not to be boring, but small enough to feel cozy. In fact, it didn’t take long for the campus to be full of familiar faces – nowadays, I will almost always bump into at least one person I know while heading to my next class. If we’re headed in the same direction, we’ll usually complain about how stressed we are, then comment on how (ridiculously) great the weather is. Sure, we sound like broken records, but it’s nice to know we’re all in the same boat (aka stressed and tired).
I’ll miss the professors at Loyola, who have remained consistently helpful and accommodating throughout my time at Loyola. Professors will regularly send emails extending an invitation to attend office hours, leaving the impression that they genuinely want you to succeed. This is especially the case right before exams: emails are answered within 24 hours despite the professors being very busy themselves, extra office hours and Q&A sessions are scheduled, and student feedback is taken into consideration on how the review sessions should be held to be most effective and conductive to our studying.
There is so much I love and will miss about Loyola, and I could probably spend another two pages monologuing about this topic, so I’ll end this (already overly long) blog post with the one thing I’ll miss most, which is the friends that I have made in LA. Moving far from home to attend Loyola, I’ll admit that I was quite nervous in the beginning: I was worried that I’d be homesick and lonely, stuck in a different continent without my friends and family. However, those worries dissipated within my first month of being here. I have made the most wonderful group of friends here, and they’ve made this new city feel like home.
In short, while I look forward to what the future will bring, I have loved every minute of attending Loyola (even exam period!). I wish that time would move slower so I can linger on this chapter for just a bit longer.