I Miss Tampa
Originally published December 24, 2024
In the spring of 2023, I was an aspiring elementary education major at the stunning, glorious, and downright extortionate University of Tampa. That semester, I navigated life on my own for the first time. I had no roommate, no social skills, and no one within the campus bounds that looked like me. An expensive PWI to navigate by yourself is difficult. I did it really poorly for awhile. I had a good routine and called my hometown friends every so often. I went outside and joined clubs. I didn’t talk to anyone in those clubs though, and outside, the only person who knew the sound of my voice was a lovely man who lived on the Riverwalk that I saw on my morning strolls. His name is Carlos, and he always said hello.
In my English class, luckily, there was a girl who I sat next to. We had to do a lot of discussions and we had a good rapport. She was nice. Once, after days and days of being too scared to do it, I asked her if she wanted to get lunch after class. She carelessly said yes as though she didn’t realize the gravity of the question I was asking or the relief I felt when she said yes. She didn’t know how long I’d been waiting for this or how difficult it was. She didn’t know it changed my life.
She introduced me to her friends, and more friends, and more. Suddenly I realized I had classes with a couple and suddenly I had even more friends. I had a good little group in Tampa. It was small, but it was exactly what I wanted and exactly what I needed. I had the girls I saw everyday and the people I said hi to in passing. I had people to say hi to in passing- that was so big for me.
I didn’t go back to the University of Tampa after that summer. I made the conscious decision to go to my local community college and save the money I would be putting towards thousands of dollars in student loans if I had stayed at UTampa. I thought that my quality of life would be better if I didn’t “waste” my money there. And I was right, in some ways. With home being relatively close by, I was still able to go and see my friends during the school year. I reconnected with my roots at home, remade a friend I’ll have for life, had new experiences, and made a little life for myself away from Tampa. I still think about it all the time, though.
I often tell people that if it wasn’t for the money, I never would have left, but I don’t 100% know if that’s true, to be honest. I wasn’t my happiest there for a long time; before I met Caliss, Naomi, and my other friends, I was completely alone. There wasn’t a lot of people there that looked like me, and I felt out of place walking through campus. I was in a few clubs, but couldn’t really find a place for me. Once I added actual socialization into my daily routine, it got better, but it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. When I’m reminiscing on my five months in Tampa, I tend to forget the bad and focus on the good, and I wanted to share the good with all y’all.
I’m so thankful for the memories I made with them then, and the memories I’ve made with them since. Caliss and Naomi are two of my favorite people in the world, and in a lot of ways they help shape me into the girl I am now. they brought me into their Tampa world, and while I know everything happened exactly how it was supposed to, and I’m glad I made it back home, I’ll miss it forever.
With love, Willianny
