When people tell you time flies, it’s true. Just when we settle into a routine, just when we start to feel at home, it decides to sprint ahead, leaving us wondering where the days have gone. That’s how I’m feeling right now as I prepare to study abroad in London.
I’m only a junior, but next semester, I’ll be halfway across the world, trading the red brick buildings of Indiana University for the historic streets of London. While I’m extremely excited for the new adventures, there’s a quiet disbelief, too. How did I get here so quickly? Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was only a freshman trying to find my way around campus, unsure which door led to the lecture hall?
Bloomington has a way of wrapping itself around you. The walk from the Union to Kirkwood, the sight of the Sample Gates lit up at night, the crisp air during fall football games, don’t even get me started on the autumn season here — these moments become part of you before you realize it. Even Wells Library, with its too-quiet study rooms and coffee-fueled nights spent prepping for midterms and finals, holds a strange kind of comfort.
I’ve made friends who feel like family and found mentors who have guided me through uncertainty. And through it all, I’ve watched time slip by faster than I ever imagined. College is four years, but sometimes it feels like four minutes. To think I only have one year left at Bloomington is bittersweet.
And now, I’m hitting pause on this chapter to begin a new one — one that starts in London, a city I’ve dreamed of visiting. Walking through Covent Garden, exploring museums or catching a soccer game (or maybe I should say football) fills me with exhilaration. With its central airport, London will be a gateway to even more adventures. Luckily, I have no Thursday or Friday classes, so I will definitely be traveling a lot.
But even with all the excitement, it’s hard to say goodbye to Bloomington. The cozy familiarity, the friends I won’t see every day, the routines I’ve built — they’re hard to leave behind, even temporarily.
Time pushes us forward, even when we want to linger. Maybe that’s the point. We can’t slow it down, but we can make the most of every moment. Whether we’re in Bloomington or London or anywhere in between, we can choose to be present, to soak it all in.
So, for now, it’s goodbye to Bloomington and hello to London. If these past years have taught me anything, it’s to hold on tight because time doesn’t wait, and the next adventure is always just around the corner.
— Bhavana Dronamraju of Hinsdale, a junior at Indiana University, is a contributing columnist. Readers can email her at [email protected].
