Dear Fellow Graduates,
By: Star McCown ‘21
I miss you, and I’m proud of you. Here’s why:
I went to take my grad photos on campus a few weeks ago. It was the first time I’d returned to campus since its closure in March 2020. While driving towards the campus, I thought that I was going to start crying the moment I walked on Trousdale. I was certain that everything I forgot to miss would come rushing back and ruin my composure, but that didn’t happen. Instead, I walked onto campus for the first time in over a year, and it felt distant from me. There was no one there, just empty buildings standing quietly as I passed by. I realized after I left that what I missed wasn’t the place, but the people that brought the campus to life. Everything that made USC what it was to me: skateboarders and cyclists zooming down Trousdale, students napping in hammocks between trees and on the grass, friends to run into between classes, the sights and sounds of people moving through life at the same place I was learning to grow, all of it was gone.
Seeing the campus without students was jarring. A college campus, down to its basics, is a group of buildings meant for student use, but when it’s no longer safe for students to be on campus, then the buildings become frozen until they can be used again. Trying to replicate that feeling with a virtual campus just isn’t the same because it lacks all of the casual interactions and little things that feel so natural until we can’t have them anymore.
I miss the campus squirrels and the Sprinkles ATM machine. I miss midnight breakfast at EVK and the Late Night ‘SC paint and glow yoga nights. But most of all, I miss all of you, the students who made the campus a home, one abuzz with energy.
I’m not going to sugarcoat how difficult this final year of college has been. With the entire year gone virtual, we didn’t get the chance to give our friends a proper hug goodbye. There was no “last” anything; everything ended with the closing of our laptops at our desks. This year was the senior year we had to accept, even though it was not at all what we expected or wanted.
That being said, I’m really proud of everyone. What matters most is that we are trying, despite how draining virtual college is, and we are so close to the finish line. Some of you have already branched out to new adventures in other parts of the world, and that’s incredible. Even if it feels like you have no idea what you’re doing, I’m proud of you, too. (Honestly, I’m right there with you. My post-grad plans are to shrug and ask “What now?” That’s okay if that’s your plan, too). Also, if it feels like a slow crawl to the finish, and there’s a slight chance that you may fail and have to push further down the end of college, that’s okay. This year has been so incredibly hard, no one blames you for it. I know you may get tired of hearing this, but please be kind to yourself. I’m proud of you.
On a personal note, I want to say thank you to the people in my life who gave me the motivation to make it through this virtual senior year. To my friends and my peers, for holding each other up and helping each other feel less alone in their isolation. To my family, for giving me a place to live. To my professors, for being flexible and understanding when it came to class attendance and deadlines. And to those of you I sadly didn’t get the chance to meet, thank you for making the campus a welcoming and warm place. Hopefully, our paths will cross someday. I struggled through this year, just as all of us have, but in spite of it all, I feel lucky to have had the support I had.
While I didn’t have the chance to say goodbye to you, I’m here to wish you all good luck. No matter what, we are all going to be okay. I believe in you.
Much love,
Star
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