GMC Transitions – By Seraphina Mallon-Breiman

With less than two weeks since leaving school, I already miss being in that green place. I’m terrible at transitioning between things in life and facing change overall, and even though I won’t graduate for another two years and won’t really be facing the most serious of changes until then- this is intense enough! I think I speak for all of my fellow Green Mountainers, but this goes for any college student in general. The transition between being in college and surrounding oneself 24/7 with the people they love, greeting each other every day (usually multiple times a day considering the size of GMC’s campus) and then being back home is an overwhelming experience!

We forget, during our time within the college bubble, how lucky we are to be able to walk across campus to see our best friend, lover, or sibling (if they also attend) whenever we face a problem. This seems normal, and almost tedious at times when you do want privacy, but never something that one should be overly excited about or in which to feel particularly priveledged.

However, when we go home to our individual lives to greet our families and our loved ones at home, we cannot help but feel a bit lonely. Lonely for needing to drive to visit our extended familes, or make additional traveling plans in order to spend time with each other.

We forget that college seems to be the only place, aside from intentional living communities throughout the world, in which we’ve created this specific kind of non-blood related community. 

Now that we’ve all gone home, or at least transitioned out of our fast-paced college lives, take a minute to remember how special this experience was, no matter how challenging! Reach out to the ones you’re missing and let them know you’re excited about continuing this process together in future semesters or reach out to your friends who’ve graduated and tell them how honored you feel to have been a part of theirs!

But most importantly, as I have to remind myself as well, keep in mind that no matter where you go- transitions will always be scary and hard, but that they don’t last forever! Change is inevitable and in retrospect is what brought us to the people and places who have changed all of our lives. Focus on doing whatever it is you’re doing this summer and doing it full-force! You’ll be reunited with your loved ones soon enough, so make the most out of what you’re doing so you’ll have the best of stories to share! I’m on the way to NYC this coming Sunday to begin an internship with the UN/Friendship Ambassadors Foundation and do some catering work. Wish me luck- you’ll hear from me soon!