It can be difficult to come and go from the Harding bubble, especially if you do it more than once during your college experience. These transitions have been challenging for me, to say the least.
Everyone leaves campus for some reason or another during his or her time at Harding. People depart to participate in study abroad programs, to take internships and pursue potential job opportunities and finally, to go out in the world for good after they graduate. During my college career thus far, I have done two of these things.
I have spent three of my eight semesters of college away from campus. I spent spring 2013 studying abroad with the Harding University in Latin America (HULA) program and then spent spring 2014 and fall 2014 in Orlando, Fla., doing an internship with the Disney College Program.
When I left campus for both HULA and the Disney College Program, I left ready for new adventures and excited for all of the incredible opportunities ahead of me. I knew that some things would be different, but in general I expected most things to be the same when I returned to Searcy. I expected to remember everything I had previously learned in my classes and for relationships to pick up where they left off. But both of these times, I was wrong.
At Harding not only is there curfew, chapel and dress code, but also there is an understood set of core values that the students and faculty abide by. Whether you’re living overseas or working at Walt Disney World, it can be a shock when those core values are no longer in place. In no way would I consider my life to be sheltered or ultra-conservative. Nevertheless, it is striking when you are downtown in a large city and see prostitutes on the streets. It is striking when you see women come to Walt Disney World wearing nothing but spandex shorts and bras, or when you hear vulgar language come out of the mouths of young children. It is striking when your roommates are dedicated to atheism. No matter if you’re going on after graduation to be a doctor, a teacher, a missionary or a business professional, the real world isn’t anything like Harding and you will have to deal with it.
Coming back home to Harding after being exposed to “real world” situations, whether it’s for a semester or a longer chunk of time is extremely difficult. When you come home, there are a lot of expectations that end up unmet and a lot of readjusting that has to be done.
Sophomore year is challenging because it’s typically the year that everyone studies abroad, meaning that several of my close friends had studied abroad the previous fall. When I returned from the HULA program for the fall 2013 semester, things weren’t too different. We had a small HULA group already, but two of our members graduated and another member transferred. What was left of our tiny group remained close and intact.
Returning from my year in the Disney College Program has been much different. You don’t realize what can change in a full year until you live it away from everyone you know. Engagements, new relationships, several of my friends student teaching and new club members made it difficult to reconnect on campus. As a senior, I don’t know many students on campus and everyone I do know will be graduating this May, when I still have a full year ahead of me.
Both of these transitions wouldn’t have been possible without the support from all of my professors, encouragement from all of my friends and unity-building activities like club week and Spring Sing. It can be difficult to come and go from the Harding bubble, especially if you do it more than once during your college experience, but with the love and encouragement from a campus like Harding’s, coming home is definitely worth it.
Sometimes the hardest part of coming home is leaving again. Although I have some additional time before I graduate, I expect that leaving campus after graduation will feel similar to leaving the first time. I think I will be excited for all of the new opportunities ahead of me, but I also think that a part of me hopes that I remember everything I learned in my classes and that, while relationships will change, they won’t end.
