If you’ve read my other articles, or have had a conversation with me in person, you know that I’m a certified Cleveland hater. I’ve always had a lot to say about this city and university, and I, like many other seniors, have no reservations saying “I can’t wait to get out of here!” But as graduation is less than a month away, I’m suddenly a bit hesitant to say it. Case Western Reserve University, for all it’s faults, has been quite kind to me over the past four years. There’s a lot I’m going to miss.

I’ve spent the last year-and-a-half being a critic in these articles, so for my last go around, I’ve decided to switch it up and share some love I have for this small STEM university. 

It all started my freshman year, when I got dropped off at my Northside dorm. I truly had no idea what was going to happen when I moved onto the second floor of Taplin. The girls who lived next door, down the hall and on the other floors became some of the people who I’d had the most fun with that year. They taught me how to go explore Cleveland and get involved in events on campus, which I’m insanely grateful for. So while I’d still whine about the lack of air conditioning and constant construction, I can’t say the overwhelming smell of detergent or the sound of an out-of-tune piano being played in the quiet of night wouldn’t get me sentimental. 

Call me a nerd, but I’ve also really enjoyed a lot of the classes I’ve gotten to take at CWRU. I was lucky enough to get into an interesting SAGES class, take weird interesting courses to fulfill credits and discover a lot of hobbies and interests along the way. Screenwriting, ceramics and fencing are some that come to mind. I’ve always had a hard time learning stuff I don’t have interest in, but I take great joy in being able to learn things that I like, and I know that I’ll miss that post-undergrad. 

Along those same lines, The Observer is a major joy that I’ve found as an upperclassman at CWRU. I always enjoyed pondering random arguments or debates, but I didn’t have a space to share them and I was hesitant to start doing so. I know my opinion pieces are far from traditional, but The Observer made space for whatever random thoughts or opinions I wanted to share (shoutout to my opinion editor Karuna Lakhiani for always approving whatever whack pitch I send her way too late) and I’ve had so much fun sharing them. I don’t know if I’ll have a space like this again in the future, and so I hold my time with The Observer very close to my heart. If you’re thinking about writing for The Observer, do it. It’s very much worth your time. 

But the part of my CWRU experience I’m going to miss most is my time at CWRU Mock Trial. I joined my freshmen year, and it very quickly became one of the most important parts of my life. Traveling around the Midwest and East Coast in 16-person vans while staying at questionable hotels really bonds you to a group of people, especially when you’ve been doing it for four years of your life for nearly every week. During the COVID-19 pandemic especially, mock trial was simultaneously the one thing that drove me up a wall and kept me sane. I can reliably say with a degree of certainty, the connections I’ve made with my loud, crazy and hard working teammates are relationships that I’ll be maintaining for a long time, even out of college. I’m very grateful for them and I’ll miss them a lot. 

So that’s it. In about a month, there’ll be no more time for my undergraduate experience here at CWRU. No more waiting for Safe Rides for insane amounts of time, no more weekly deadlines for The Observer I miss with regularity (Sorry Karuna), no more traveling at 2 a.m. to a random Midwest town for a mock trial tournament. For me, it’s the end of Thwing Tuesdays, Saturday night IMPROVment shows, dance and acapella showcases and late night runs to Euro Wafel. So while I’m ready for the next phase of life, I don’t know if I can keep saying I “can’t wait” to leave. Maybe, just maybe, I could stand to wait just a bit longer to say bye to a community that’s dear to my heart.