By Haley Lynch

For years now, you’ve had a love-hate relationship with Sept. 3. There’s excitement, nerves, and sadness all entwined. The night before, you rummage through your entire room looking for your OneCard, the key to everything. You can’t wait to run up to your best friends and hug them after two straight months, but you have to say goodbye to your family and comfy bed. It also means homework, lots of homework.
It’s move-in day at Fitchburg State. You practically rise with the sun, pack your things, and leave your home town with nearly everything you own. With one (or both) of your parent’s cars packed to its full capacity, you arrive in front of your new home for the next nine months. Before you enter your dorm, you’re wishing you had never left the air-conditioned car.
You open the door and notice the tiny, thin, green excuse for a mattress. “One of the things I definitely did not miss was having to leave my nice, big bed at home,” says Lindsay Britton, a recent graduate of Fitchburg State.
Britton attended and lived at Fitchburg State for four years. One of the things she will miss the most is “living with [her] best friends.” After so many years of move-in day, it becomes like a holiday to students. But what happens after you graduate? What is there to do besides go to class and hang out with your roomies?
Britton explains, “not moving into school was weird; I missed seeing my friends and having all of that freedom.” There are definitely ups and downs that go along with not moving back into school. Britton says, “One thing I don’t miss is having to go to Daka for every meal, or cooking for myself.”
Britton lived in Mara village for three years, and for her senior year she lived in a townhouse. “Now that I live at home again I get home-cooked meals every night and I don’t feel gross about what I’m eating,” she says.
Fitchburg State will always remain a big part of her life. Four years’ worth of memories cannot be forgotten. “One of the things I will miss most is laughing and having the best time with my roommates, whether it be at a party of just hanging out in the dorm. That is something I can’t do anymore and I miss it more than anything.” She exclaims, “I miss always having someone to talk to. I miss having someone right next door that I can go to and hang out with when I get bored. Living with my parents again isn’t the same.” She encourages students to spend as much time as they can at school with their roommates because senior year, especially, goes by in the blink of an eye. “I do not miss the homework and studying, who would?” Britton says. “It took up so much of my time and it caused so much unnecessary stress.”
She encourages students to take on an internship and start looking for jobs while still in school. “If I could go back and get an internship I would have; I think it would have helped me find a job quicker and it would have made things a lot easier,” Britton says. “I also wish I had looked for jobs the beginning of my senior year. It’s taken me some time to start and perfect my resume. If I had gotten this all done while in school, I would have had a job by now.”
Britton has currently started to look and apply for jobs. She is still working part-time at the job she had all through college. She plans to quit that job as soon as she finds a full-time job within her field. She explained that she feels accomplished and worthy now that she has a degree and she feels it will help her get a job soon.
“Live senior year to the fullest, go out every chance you get, and spend quality time with college friends,” Britton says. “But also start looking for jobs in your free time so you won’t be as scared once you graduate. Don’t forget to have fun.”