As we all know, I love ODU a lot, so there are more than a few things I'm going to miss now that I've graduated. This, I'm sure, will not be the only blog post I spend discussing things I miss. Every day, I come up with more and more things I miss at ODU, so those of you who are fortunate enough to still be students at ODU, enjoy every moment and don't take any of this wonderful school for granted.
This list is in no particular order as I cannot begin to try and compare the many beautiful aspects of Ohio Dominican University I will miss, but I will begin with the part of ODU I know for sure I will miss the most, the very heart of ODU- Christ the King Chapel. I have been so distraught since graduation. I've been crying myself to sleep and trying to figure out what to do with my life. My favorite place to go to cry, think, pray, sit, write, and make decisions over the past four years has been the Chapel. Now that I have left and am entering this new chapter of my life, I find myself needing to be there in that chapel more than ever. The last thing I did before I got into the car to leave ODU was say goodbye the chapel. There were tears. I didn't want to leave. Now, I have nowhere to go in the middle of the night when I need to feel very close to Jesus, when I need to feel comforted by the smell of incense and holy water, when I need to cry by myself, when I need a place to focus my thoughts and prayers, when I need silence to listen to God so that I can handle big life changes and making decisions. I feel so lost now especially in my prayer life. I regret not going to that chapel every free moment I had. I didn't realize until just before graduation what a luxury it is to have a 24/7 chapel right downstairs from my bedroom. I knew I'd miss it a lot, but I didn't know how much until the week before graduation. So to those of you who are still there with the chapel, I advise you to go there as often as possible. Soak it in. Go to Mass as often as you can. Take time to just sit in there and listen. Cry and let Jesus hold you there. Read in there. Reflect in there. Love in there as much as possible and enjoy it while you can.
Of course, I'm also going to miss all my friends at ODU: those who are still there and those who have graduated with and before me. I have met some of the best people I ever known there. Because of these friends, I have grown in faith, love, knowledge, understanding, and so many other areas of my life. My friends at Ohio Dominican make me laugh, cry, smile, think, and love life so much! It's going to be so hard not being able to walk down the hall or across the parking lot to go visit my best friends any time of day when I need a hug, homework help, food, or just someone to talk to. My ODU friends are seriously the best. I know I will keep in touch with most of them, but it's certainly not going to be the same. Living in the residence halls at ODU is like living in a giant house with all of your best friends. We would go eat meals together on a more regular basis than I do with my actual family. We would have homework parties to try to keep each other focused (though we usually just distracted each other further). We would invite each other to go out to places like the grocery store or the mall so we wouldn't have to shop alone. We would borrow each other's dish soap and laundry detergent when one of us ran out. We would sit together at Mass. We would support each other by attending one another's programs and events on campus. We would go on runs together and motivate each other in the fitness center. I am losing a huge support system leaving ODU. I am not only leaving friends, but people I think of as family, because ODU was home for the last 4 and a half years. Moving away from your family and your home is always tough.
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