So long ago, when Obama was still a regular U.S. President who had not received the Nobel Peace Prize, I came here. I arrived at Mississippi State just a few days before school started. Two months ago, I was a new freshman with eyes wide open, both excited and thrilled to attend MSU.
My plane was delayed, so I was stuck in Atlanta for a couple of hours. In the meantime, my excitement kept growing.
I thought, “How would this place be?” I had this beautiful image in my mind of a big campus which would capture my heart, where I would want to stay forever. I looked at the pictures online and had an idea of how campus looked and what my room would look like. Because I did not visit the campus before I came here and since I did not know anyone here, I was very impatient to arrive to MSU and see it for myself.
Then, after a couple of hours of waiting, I was in Columbus. The plane which took me there was full of fellow students, some Korean, some Spanish and many Americans. I was buzzing with joy.
After I got off the airplane, I saw a big MSU poster depicting the Drill Field at the Golden Triangle airport. Minutes later, I would be in a car going around the actual Drill Field and heading toward my new room.
I was so glad to be here finally. I made it to college in one piece. So many thoughts swiveled in my mind. I was wondering about all the new people I would meet here and all the new experiences and memories I would make, like a child whose parents finally takes him to Disneyland. The kid wonders how the rides will look, how many games he will play and how much fun he will have.
I was that child, thinking of how scary or joyful each ride would be. How fun would my ride be? I was the first one in my high school to go to college because all other schools started later in September, so I did not have a previous classmate to ask how college was.
The question kept lingering the first couple of days while I still was a loner who had not befriended anyone on campus yet. I was stuck until school started after two days, and then I started meeting new people. Since then, life has never been the same for me.
The endless nights of cramming for French exams, endless hours of doing OWL chemistry homework, endless drafts of my English paper and infinite derivatives in calculus were not just it. I met some of the nicest, funniest and most amazing people ever here at MSU, and I spent some of the most enjoyable moments ever with them.
Two months have passed since I came here, and now it is time to call this place home, my new home. Right here in the Drill Field, I spent an unforgettable night playing capture the flag until past midnight. Here, I met people from across the globe and we enjoyed some of the funniest moments ever over lunch at Perry. I had some of the best conversations ever in Dorman auditorium where my tired eyes have tried to sleep so many times during chemistry class. Here, I learned to be careful when crossing the roads because a few still don’t understand what the white lines are for.
Nonetheless, State is definitely my new home, but that’s not the same way my parents or old friends would feel.
In just a short period of time, I called a new place home, but that doesn’t mean I forgot my original home, the place where I grew up and played with Legos.
I know someone who had an awkward moment in front of her family when she said she was going home referring to MSU. I have not been home yet, so I still have not experienced such a situation, but I’m sure it will be just hilarious.
I am sure my house will feel awkward once I go back for Winter Break. My brother has already taken over my closet. When I go home, I will get the rest of my things and get them over here to Starkville. So my hometown is still home, and MSU is home. But I am sure as years progress, things will change and I will call only one place home.
Abdallah Abu Ghazaleh is a freshman majoring in electrical engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].