By Leea Rebeca Ruta – Contributor

My time at Bishop’s has been the best and happiest time of my life (despite the pandemic factor). It shaped me into who I am and who I aspire to be. I hope to give back to the community in the future and to help others the same way I’ve been helped. 

I’ve been coming to Lennoxville for school since 2017, when I first started at Champlain College. During my first week of school, on Aug. 21, 2017, there was a solar eclipse. Now, on my last week of school at Bishop’s, on April 8, 2024, there will also be a solar eclipse. It has all come full circle! So, how has my time in Lennoxville been for the past seven years? 

I’ll be honest. After high school, I haven’t been a very sociable person and have leaned towards being a reclusive introvert. That is not to say I am socially inept! There are moments when being with people is important for me mentally. However, my social battery gets drained quickly, and I need to be by myself to recharge it. Coming to class and interacting with classmates gives me just enough of my needed daily social interaction and then I get to come home and do whatever I want without needing to see anyone else. If I want to spend three hours in bed watching TikToks, no one can stop me! 

I don’t party, drink, go to bars, nor do I partake in hookup culture (shoutout my aromantic-asexuals!). I’ve never attended orientation/initiation week at either Champlain or Bishop’s, I have never been to WinterFest or St. Patty’s keggers nor have I ever stepped foot inside the Gait (except for the one time in 2022 when I was selling ArtsFest tickets at the door for a drag show). I don’t live on campus nor do I have my driver’s license, so doing extracurricular activities is a headache. I have sensory issues, and I am not fond of loud, drunk people or loud music that causes me to have tinnitus. 

These university experiences that are so important for many my age mean absolutely nothing to me. So, in that respect, I don’t feel like I was missing out on any transcendental event that could have come out of Gait nights. The truth is, there is nothing fun about being the only sober person in a room full of drunk people, especially when you’re someone who absorbs the energies around you. Talk about feeling drunk without ever taking a sip of alcohol! 

Were there events I would have enjoyed attending on campus more often? Yes, of course. I have heard nothing but great things about the immaculate quality of theatre or musical play productions put on by the students. I also wish I could’ve attended ArtHive workshops, the fashion shows, the Donald Lectures (gosh, how I wish they would stream those!), or movie nights with my history peers. Despite the deep love I have for my friends, coming to school late at night just to watch a movie I’ve already seen does not justify the cost of mileage. Sorry darlings, stealing the Declaration of Independence will have to go on without me! 

But wait: what about all the people you could have met and all the friends you could have made from attending these events? That is a good point. Many friendships are started and forged from going to orientation, for example. However, in my spiritual beliefs, the people who are meant to be in your life will find a way back to you, if not now, then later in life, because everything happens for a reason. I just wish people would stop telling me I need to get drunk at least once in my life and instead let me enjoy my spinster reclusiveness! Nonetheless, I will miss Bishop’s forever, and thank you for a great four and a half years of my life. May we meet again…