On the second day of spring break, I received a Snapchat from a friend of mine who was spending the week at a resort in the Bahamas. It was a picture of a crowded pool, with an arrow drawn pointing to a boy in board shorts and a pastel t-shirt, captioned, “I recognize this guy from Clem 2!” Even thousands of miles away from Charlottesville, it seems students at the University can’t seem to shake each other.
It’s easy to blame the numbers game. There are nearly 16,000 undergraduates at the University and a large portion of them go somewhere tropical for spring break. Statistics dictate that you’re bound to run into a few fellow Wahoos in places like Punta Cana or Cancun.
But it’s a phenomenon that even those who chose less expected destinations for spring break experience. I woke up my first morning on the South Carolina island where I spent most of my childhood summers to a slew of text messages asking if I was spending my spring break on Hilton Head. While the island can hardly be considered a hidden treasure, I was still surprised by the amount of people who would be within 15 minutes of me for the duration of the break.
I am still getting used to the idea that, while at the University, vacations are never a complete break from life on Grounds. As an out-of-state student, I never imagined college could follow you home like it does for some people here. My friends from home would return from college and almost immediately resume the lives they left behind for nine months — summer jobs, parties with high school friends, family dinners. But recently, I’ve found myself wishing I could surround myself with my friends from the University even when I go home.
I never imagined I would miss college as much as I do when I’m away from it; I feel so envious of my friends who live as close to each other in their hometowns as they do in their apartments in Charlottesville. I find myself willing to drive 45 minutes each way to spend the day with my closest U.Va. friend while spending breaks in New Jersey and inviting others to accompany me on trips I take elsewhere. The withdrawal I experience when leaving the concentrated social network of Grounds doesn’t feel as daunting when I remember how widespread the U.Va. community really is.
While I’ve often lamented my need for a break, the truth is, I am already looking forward to my return to Grounds. The idea of being halfway across the world and running into a boy who sits at the same table in the library as you do may seem stifling to some, but it never fails to put a smile on my face. It means no matter how far you may travel, you’ll never be that far from home.
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