By the time this gets posted, I will be safely across the pond in Sevilla, Spain! Wow, I can’t believe it. I know myself pretty well, and I estimate that I will have cried approximately 14 times since being in Spain about how much I miss all my family, friends, and my dear, dear WASBies. That’s not to say I won’t be having the time of my life, but having people and places to miss is something to be grateful for. Even making these estimates is entirely crazy, considering that just two years ago I was looking to go abroad for an entire year because of how much I hated Madison. I wanted to get out of there. And now, it breaks my heart to leave. I owe much of this change to no other org but WASB.
When applying to college, I always asked my mom, “Okay, but is it me, will I like it there?” and every time she responded with, “College is what you make it. You can go anywhere and have a good time.” I wanted to believe her so badly, but after an entire year of joining numerous clubs and trying new things, I still wanted to leave Madison. There was no explanation. I liked the people, I liked the scenery, I liked my classes, but there was just something that kept pushing me away. Still, I decided to stick it out for one more semester, and that’s when I ended up applying to WASB.
During my WASB interview, I was asked, “Why WASB? Why’d you apply?” A classic question. Now, my answer is simple: the lovely people. But in the interview, I explained that I applied because of my freshman year self. The events WASB puts on are things I needed my first year but never made it to. Maybe if I had attended the W Project, gone to the All-Campus Swap, or listened to inspiring talks by professors at COW, I would have fallen in love with being a Badger a lot earlier.
I’m not one to focus on the past, though. I told those sitting in on my interview that I made a promise to myself after freshman year that I would do anything and everything I could to make Madison my home. WASB made Madison feel a lot smaller, but it made my impact on campus feel a whole lot bigger. Sometimes all you need is the right group of people to show you how much there is to love about the place you’re in.
Everyone deserves to find community in life, and the path to that looks different for all. It comes down to finding a place and people that let you truly be yourself. You don’t have to change your location to change your perspective, and that’s what I’ve found being on WASB. They remind me that life is a lot sillier than I realized and to not take things so seriously, but instead find the fun and love in life.
Stripped down to a bare word, WASB to me is “belonging.” I felt like I belonged as soon as I joined. They made it feel like there was always a space for me there, I was just now stepping into it. That feeling stuck with me, the unmistakable thought that, “I do belong here. These people don’t even know me yet, and they believe in me.” My friends describe WASB as Bucky’s cheerleading squad, and while that may be true, I like to think of us more as cheerleaders for our fellow Badgers and for each other.
My first semester on WASB, a senior, Carly Shindler, said that we won’t even realize how unique and special a community like WASB is until years later. We’ll look back and wish to be in these moments again, but I’m not there yet. Right now, I’m in the middle of my college experience, with so much to look back on and look forward to. I keep her words in the back of my mind, to be present, to be grateful, and to feel lucky. I fully intend to take this mindset to Spain. It will be hard at first and I might feel like a fish out of water, but I know I have it in me to make it feel like my community. Studying abroad will be an adventure of a lifetime, and I hope I meet the people and places along the way that make it feel like home, just like how WASB made Madison feel like one.
I have so much to do abroad, so many things to see, so many people to meet, and so many new things to experience. But I can’t help but think the same about Madison. There will always be people to get to know more, conversations to be had, smiles shared, and hugs exchanged. I know my time in Europe will be more than amazing, but I also know I’ll be coming home to something that means just as much to me. So to everyone in Madison and WASB, my love for you and this community transcends continents, and I cannot wait to see you all again. Have a great semester, I’ll be watching from a thousand miles away. Many hugs and kisses!
All my love,
Riley Sarsany
P.S. remember it’s always okay to cry when Landslide comes on