While packing for freshman year the summer of 2022, I brought everything—from quote books to monogrammed wine glasses. A silver leather jacket, eccentric sneakers, cheetah-print tops, colorful sandals, and chunky jewelry have all sat in my wardrobe for the past three years, traveling with me to every room I’ve lived in at BC. Thanks to my inability to clean out my room, countless miscellaneous garments remain in my tiny dorm to this day.

Los Angeles has UCLA, New York City has NYU, Philadelphia has Villanova, and countless more cities have countless more top colleges, but you chose Boston College. You chose BC over a number of other schools—and,...

A winter migration to Florida, and a first taste of the inevitable move away from a childhood home.