Four Years at the Mount

Senior Year

One last move-in

Katelyn Phelan

(Sept, 2010) My return to the Mount this year is more than bittersweet. Having studied in Florence last semester, it’s been nine months since I was here as a full-time student taking classes. It’s also been that long since I’ve been able to spend extended periods of time with my close Mount friends. But, this return to the Mount is also my last one. I am a senior this year, and if all the people asking, "so what exactly do you plan to do upon graduation?" haven’t made the truth sink in, moving back has.

It seems like just yesterday that I was moving all of my boxes and new packages up four long flights of steps to Pangborn 412. It was raining that day, something that has remained constant in every single one of my Mount move-ins and outs. As a freshman I was moving into a triple, where my other roommates were named Katie and Kate. Like everyone else, I was nervous about pretty much everything. I was worried about making friends, living with 2 other people, doing well in my classes, etc. I had the same concerns as everyone else. Looking back, I’m not exactly sure what I did those first six weeks. My course work was amazingly light compared to what it is now. I wasn’t particularly close to many people yet, so I wasn’t hanging out talking until all hours of the night. I suppose I went to bed at a reasonable hour and got a full night’s sleep, something I’m rarely able to do now.

Things now, though, aren’t all that bad. This year my living situation is quite different from a triple on the fourth floor of Pangborn. I’m living with one of my best friends in a two person apartment. There’s a kitchen, living area, bathroom, and we each have our own bedroom. I’m no longer trudging to Patriot Hall for food three times a day. I’ll be cooking my own meals and going grocery shopping. It’s a big change, but one I’m excited for.

This year is full of more responsibilities than I’ve had in years past. I have an honors project on Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment to research, write, and present and a semester-long art project to design and complete. I have these projects to complete, plus my regular courses, which are considerably more involved with harder reading, longer papers, and more projects than courses I’ve taken in the past. The focus of each of my courses is far different than that of freshman year. Instead of hearing about the course as an introduction or a building block for the rest of my Mount education, I’m hearing about each class serving as a capstone to my Mount education.

Senior year does bring with it a lot of weight and responsibility, but it will be fun, too. This is the last year I will get to live with my friends. Living with friends can be very difficult, especially in incredibly tight quarters, but after all of this time, I think we have it down. Though living closely with friends can be tough, it’s also a lot of fun. We’ve gone to Sheetz at 2 in the morning, watched stupid movies together, procrastinated on large papers, eaten pizza, laughed, and grown very close.

It’s difficult to believe how quickly time has gone. When I moved in, I was still 17, though I turned 18 my first week or two at the Mount. Now I’m about to turn 21, which I feel like is the last big milestone to being an adult. I’ve love my time at the Mount, and I’m looking forward to another great year here. When I think about the end of the year and about packing up and leaving for the last time, I do get sad. But I’m trying not to think about it for now and just focus on the year to come. Freshmen, enjoy your four years here while you still have them ahead of you. You have no idea how quickly they’ll go by.

Read other articles by Katelyn Phelan