WRITER.

Today’s WordPress prompt is “If you could relive one year of your life, which one would it be?”

The year I would choose would be my senior year of college. It took a bit of thought to choose what year I would like to repeat, but I feel that in my final year before graduation, I discovered a lot about myself. Not only did I begin to accept myself as a queer person, I also re-evaluated my belief system. And while that was hard, I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. It was an empowering process and experiencing it again, learning to love myself and others for who they are, would be well worth it.

That year, I focused on building relationships and making the most out of college. I made plans with friends for most meals and put together a gaming group. I frequently watched shows such as RWBY with my best friend.

Covid-19 was present and especially relevant the first semester of senior year, and that added stress, but I was careful and wore masks and social distanced. We had to test ourselves before arriving on campus at the beginning of the school year, and the last half of junior year had moved to online, so it felt good to be back in person.

One good thing that happened was the cafeteria started offering to-go and I was able to eat dinner or lunch in my room while doing homework. Because of my mental health issues, the crowded cafeterias were quite overwhelming for me and I appreciated the option to go to a quieter location.

In my earlier years at college, I had gone home every weekend, but in my senior year, I settled in my dorm for the weekends and went to more events and spent more time with friends. While I was still close to my family, I learned to enjoy being more independent.

Also, my senior year I really settled into the routine and was not as stressed out with my classes. I was an expert at studying and worked hard, and was proud of my efforts.

One of the biggest differences was that the symptoms of my mental illness were starting to be treated and I told my friends what was going on. They were very understanding and it felt good to get that off my chest and feel like they loved and appreciated the real me.

Feel free to share what year you would relive in the comments!