The next day

After spending most of the day unpacking, meeting my roommates, and getting settled into the dorm, I decided to get out for a while.

Doug, Jeff, and Chase were still in the room, doing their own things. They seemed like decent guys, but I didn’t feel like sitting around just because we happened to share a room.

I grabbed my phone and headed outside.

I didn’t have anywhere specific in mind. I just walked.

The campus was alive with the usual first-day energy. Groups of students stood around talking, people hurried between buildings, and music drifted across the quad from somewhere nearby.

I slowed down as I passed a familiar building.

Senior year.

It was strange seeing it written that way in my head. I’d spent years imagining graduation as something far away. Now it was sitting right in front of me.

After this, there’d be a career, a place of our own, and eventually whatever came next with Sarah.

I smiled at the thought.

Then I looked around again.

I’d spent so much time rushing between classes, studying, and keeping up with everything that I hadn’t really stopped to enjoy being here.

Maybe I didn’t need to change my entire life.

Maybe I could just stop saying no to everything.

I watched a group of students laughing near the center of the quad before continuing toward an area of campus I rarely visited.

I found a small café I’d never noticed before and ordered a drink. I took a seat outside and watched people come and go.

A girl walking past caught my attention for a moment. She glanced in my direction, smiled briefly, and kept walking.

I smiled back.

That was it.

Still, I found myself amused by how different that tiny interaction felt from the way I’d normally move through campus.

I wasn’t hiding from the world anymore.

My phone buzzed.

I pulled it out.

Sarah: How’s your first day going? ❤

I smiled and typed back.

Pretty good. Met my roommates. Just walking around campus.

Her response came a minute later.

Enjoy yourself. You deserve it.

I looked at the message and shook my head with a quiet laugh.

“Yeah,” I said to myself. “I think I will.”

I finished my drink and started walking again.

I didn’t know where I’d end up that evening. Maybe I’d find somewhere to eat. Maybe I’d check out whatever was happening around campus. Maybe I’d simply keep walking.

For once, there was no reason to rush back.

This was my last year.

I might as well see what it had to offer.