I spent about an hour today with two of my alums who now attend UMBC. I would have had more time to spend with Lenore and Marissa, but I am still adjusting to life post-Jeep and post-GPS. A wrong turn here and a missed road there, and I found myself in Old Ellicott City…. (quoth Bugs: “I knew I shoulda taken a left turn at Albequerque!”).

I saw L/M last semester as well, and when I did, they were two excited freshmen who had so much to share about the new-ness of living away from home and the general experience of being in college for the first time. Or, more appropriately–being out of high school for the first time.

This time, though, I was amazed at the maturity of both of them. We talked about issues that were beyond high school and even their first year at UMBC. They were confident, strong, loving life, and growing up.

At one point, it was nice to just sit back and listen to Lenore share updates about her classes; I barely got a word in, and I was just fine with that. Before we knew it, I had to head back home. The time went so quickly.

In the past week, I have been in touch with many alums from various graduation years, and I am so thankful for their kindness and respect. To Kayleigh, Ali, Pratik, Lenore, Marissa, Sami, Amanda, Josh, and so many others: Thank you. Your keeping in touch means the world to me.

I’m going to make a more concerted effort to get photos with every alum visit and post them here. I love seeing you all, and you belong in my posts as always being the highlight of my day!