And Just Like That . . .
May 7, 2026
Writer: Sophia Singh
Editor: Madison Freshour
As we prepared to leave the hotel and move me into my freshman year dorm, West Quad, I remember my parents donning their “Michigan Mom” and “Michigan Dad” shirts. Of course, we took a photo together to commemorate the event underneath the “Welcome to Michigan” banner. We proceeded to spend hours unloading everything into my room. I brought way too much, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, right? I was 18 and 1000 miles away from my home. I knew no one. But I could reinvent myself into whoever I wanted, and to some degree, I did.
Writing this story has everything from the last four years flooding my mind like a supercut. Flashes of moments that I would never want to forget. Many of these memories are tied deeply to lingering emotions. The feeling of the first time you truly fail an exam (in organic chemistry, of course), and being made aware of how hard this school will humble you. The moment when your class friend group suddenly becomes a real-life friend group, and you’re eating Frita Batidos post-final exam and laughing for hours on end. The moment of awkwardly running into some former friends, and silently wondering how they are doing. Showing up to a party when you are not a party person, just to maybe talk to the guy who makes you laugh. The mixture of relief and nervousness that washes over you when he asks you to be his girlfriend.
More and more memories flash in my mind. Getting closer with your sorority sisters and being able to fall into the ease of any conversation under the sun with them. Catching up with old friends at various restaurants or cafes. Learning what coffee chats are, and going on so many. Weekly club meetings, Mondays and Wednesdays. Seeing the campus physically change over the years. Ann Arbor roasters rebranding into Ondo’s, yet they still manage to have unusable wifi, like M-36. Watching the Palmer Field “temporary” facility being built, and seeing the CCRB being knocked down. Seeing the same stretch of State Street under construction on at least two separate occasions spanning years.
I will also admit –a significant amount of my college experience has been in the library. Sometimes I go through phases where I pick certain libraries to study in. I would say my freshman year, my “library” of choice was the UMMA cafe. Sophomore year, I preferred the Ugli. Junior year, it was the Law Library. Senior year has been a weird mix. Sometimes it’s the Ugli, sometimes it’s Hatcher. I kind of like being a Hatcher stack dweller nowadays. Every side of the stacks has a different window view of campus. It’s a beautiful scene to watch alongside a cozy, quiet study session.
College has been a weird mixture of everything important and mundane all at once.
Sometimes I feel like I went through all the phases of life, and sometimes I feel like each day blurred together for 4 straight years. There is one thing that I am confident about: I am actually glad to be done. I’m eager to move on with my life and take the next steps in my career. College is not the “end all be all”, and far too often do people frame it like that. Many say that college is the “best 4 years of your life”, but that does not have to be true. There is so much more to life than these 4 years. Whatever your college experience may have been, however thrilling, average, or awful, it’s still an accomplishment under your belt. It is important to remember that bigger and better things lie ahead.
And just like that...the 2026 college season is over.
