Exiting Bowling Green by Carla
Happy Friday, falcons. This week has flown by. I am back in Columbus now, which could be the antithesis of a little college town. My cold, quiet house has no allergens and lots of home-cooked food. It’s got a Labrador Retriever sniffing through my overnight bag, for an added bonus. I don’t see a lot of those floating around the residence halls. As nice as Columbus is, though, I surprised myself today by truly missing Bowling Green.
My first weekend at school, I sat down in an empty shuttle stop and nearly cried. A wave of homesickness hit me. It had been raining throughout the morning, and I was a frizzy, sleep-deprived wreck. “The shuttles don’t run on Saturdays,” someone informed me as they walked by. My roommate and I had just grabbed some groceries from the Outtakes in Offenhauer—instantly our new favorite place—and neither of us knew a quick way back to Harshman. Without a car, there really isn’t one. Faced with the decision to walk back or wait out the rain, we stayed seated.
It wasn’t more than ten minutes before something nice happened to turn up our day. A shuttle rounded the corner and slowed in front of the stop. It had all of two passengers. It turns out we’d been informed correctly: the shuttles take a break on Saturdays. This bus just happened to be on duty to take visitors around for campus tours and didn’t mind extending its services to us. I can imagine we looked silly, mounting the steps of the shuttle with our wet groceries and campus maps. However, we must have also looked pretty grateful. Once back at the dorm, I pulled out a frozen dish and an energy drink and forgot the twinge of homesickness.
Labor Day Weekend came quickly, and the heavy traffic leaving Bowling Green this afternoon told me everyone had the same idea. This weekend gave students a great opportunity to pack a couple pillows and sneak home. Does that mean the student body is sick of the campus already? No. Occasionally, it’s just nice to reenergize at home, in the company of family and free food. Exiting Bowling Green on 75, I missed my neighbors in Dunbar. That seems like a good sign. Maybe there’s such a thing as “dorm” sickness. Watching the University of Michigan lose in football this weekend (wishful thinking) will not be the same without them.