Category: Morgan

As December continues to creep up on us, I am getting more and more homesick. But not in the same way that I was homesick my first year of college. I’m homesick thinking about leaving the place that has seen my grow. The place that has fostered my education. The place that has provided me with a bigger, brighter family. This time, it is Boston that I’m homesick for. 

Okay, maybe I’m being a little melodramatic. I can look out my window right now and still catch glimpses of the Citgo sign and hear the buzz from Storrow Drive; however, as I write my final blog post for COM Ambassadors, I can only reminisce. 

The unknown: FRESHMEN YEAR

Freshmen year Morgan entered Warren Towers wide eyed, overpacked, and lost (both literally and figurately). I knew no one and knew nothing about living without the ease of having my parents at my fingertips. I was shocked when I teared up when I talked to my parents, for the first time after school began, through my computer screen while sitting in the common room of the 16th floor. But I quickly was able learn how to navigate my way through BU’s campus. After a few latenesses I figured out how to get to the fifth floor of CAS. I made friends in my WR100 class. And I figured out what times were best for showering when there are about twenty other girls vying for the same shower stalls.

I surely missed my group of friends from home and was sad to miss out on my family’s weekend dinners out together, but I learned to find places at BU where I discovered people who would become my family away from home.

That’s new: SOPHOMORE YEAR

If freshmen year was my adjustment period, sophomore year was my time of discovery.

I moved out of my comfort zone by taking on new leadership positions. In BU’s Asian Student Union (ASU), I progressed from being a freshmen representative, to secretary, to vice president internal, and this is where I formed some of my closest friendships. With ASU I was given the opportunity to see events grow from being ideas to huge events, such as Breaking Boundaries, for upwards of 500 people. ASU introduced me to people who built me up and always showed me unending love and support in an environment where I was lost, and for that I am so very grateful.  

I further explored beyond people’s expectations of me by taking hip hop dance classes! As an extremely inexperienced dancer, performing in front of a crowd for the first time in my life taught me confidence and has furthered my mentality of having no shame as long as you are having fun.    

The Revival: JUNIOR YEAR

At the start of junior year, I was close to comfort at last. I was rooming with three great friends of mine, and was fully acclimated to BU with all of my involvements in organizations fairly finalized. But studying abroad my second semester once again placed me in an unfamiliar setting. 

I studied abroad in Sydney, Australia, and let me tell you, it was incredible. I thought that I had dedicated my last two years to learning who I was, but there’s nothing like moving across the world to force you into some serious self discovery. I experienced life like I never was able to before by being granted the privilege of having time and constant creative inspiration surrounding me. I was more active, cooking for the first time, and interning at a huge global media company. Study abroad was the much needed break that I needed to be rejuvenated at a time when the pains of college were becoming heavy.

Retirement is on the horizon: SENIOR YEAR

 Senior year is a short one. Being that I am graduating early, my time at BU is coming to an end this coming December, and I am ill prepared for the reality check that is about to come my way. However, I plan to make the most out of these six remaining weeks that I reside on Commonwealth Avenue. I am going to miss hearing the passion from my history professors. I’ll miss having late night talks in my apartment with the people who have made my time here special. I will miss the dining hall. And I will student discounts. (Just to name a few things). 

During my senior year I have truly felt like an upperclassman as younger students come to me with the same questions that I once asked my own mentors and friends, which scares and excites me at the same time. In college I am currently at the height of my career, but in just SIX WEEKS, yet again I will be pushed down to the bottom ranks. For the first time I have no idea what I will be doing, who I will be with, or even what city I will be in post graduation. I will definitely return to those uneasy feelings that haunted me freshmen year, but now at least I’ll have the experiences of my last few years at Boston University to guide me. 

Stand outside Marciano Commons and the sounds of Billy Joel or The Who can be overheard coming from Fenway Park. Right across the street, you’ll see the blue walls of the House of Blues. Cross the river to discover venues such as the Sinclair and Middle East. Wander down Commonwealth and you’re sure to catch glimpses of lines for the next show at Paradise Rock Club winding around Canes. Go farther west and you’ll find students looking for good food and partaking in the Allston Crawl mixed in with the crowd outside of Brighton Music Hall. Venture downtown to Tremont Street and the marquee lights of Royale, the Boch Center, and The Wilbur will draw you in. Jump on the T and hop off at North Station and catch the songs of artists at the top of the Billboard charts vibrating through TD Garden. And right here on our very own campus at Agganis Arena, unless the crowds are decked out in red hockey jerseys, it is safe to assume that our hockey arena has been transformed to house a big name superstar for that night.

Boston University may lack a football team or be far from extensive green space, but one thing we have in excess is accessibility to seeing live music—and thank god for it! School has been in session for just around two weeks and I have been so lucky to have attended two shows in that limited time period. I saw Pink Sweat$ and Tyler the Creator, and was able to get affordable tickets for them both. Concerts have a reputation of breaking the bank and it is understandable as to why that is. Musicians now-a-days are relying almost solely on streaming revenue to make money with the decline in physical record sales, which leaves artists making a fraction of a cent each time someone clicks their song on Spotify, Apple Music, or a like platform. In response, touring is what artists turn to make a more solidified income. As a result of this changing economy, I believe that artists are touring more than before, which has brought everyone from today’s biggest names like Post Malone and Lizzo, to smaller indie names like Mt. Joy (who I am obsessed with) or Omar Apollo to Boston’s venues.

It may seem like a trap knowing that all of these artists are performing so close to campus, when ideas of paying for concert tickets are overwhelmed with looming thoughts of paying for student loans, but live music is all around us and does not always come attached to a hefty price tag. I advise you look into artists playing at the smaller venues and listen to their songs. You may discover an artist that you end up loving and can have the satisfaction of saying you saw them (for cheap!) before they made it big. Personally I even prefer these smaller venues because you are able to have a more intimate experience with the performers often being just a few rows, or less, in front of you. Scrolling Facebook event pages or BU Free and For Sale pages can also connect you with students or others in the area reselling tickets for a steep discount because they can no longer attend for one reason or another. I did this for Tyler the Creator and was able to snag tickets for a quarter of it’s face value! The Boston area even has live jazz music at Wally’s Café or Beehive Restaurant, or if you’re looking for something completely different, Howl at the Moon features shows with dueling pianos. Another option is to take in the music of the talented street musicians that take over Faneuil Hall or Harvard Square. Boston may be known as “Beantown” or for being a “College Town,” but a layer of Boston that I believe doesn’t get enough credit is its abundance and love for good-old live, loud music.