Why am I here?
It seems like such an existentialist question. But really, why am I here? Why am I at Mills?
The community. The fact that I can go out into the hall and knock on peoples’ doors and talk to them about something after just two weeks of being on campus really shows just how great of a community we have on campus.
While I do count in the very definite fact that my Living Learning Community (LLC), is composed of rather cohesive people, where most of us get along, and if they don’t, there is an attempt to get along. There is also the fact that Mills has LLCs, which gives first years a group of people you know you can see around, albeit in your hall or in a class that you all share, like the Women’s Studies LLC or the Ethnic Studies LLC.
Just thinking about the community reminds me that less than 3 months ago, when I was considering which college to go to, and when it came down to it I was deciding between Mills and St. Mary’s.
Community was really one of the huge mitigating factors to my ultimate decision to attend Mills. I went to a really small high school in a rather eclectic neighborhood; my home school district is the second most diverse school district in the nation, so I have always been right at home with an eclectic group of people to surround myself with. Which is something that I saw so much more at Mills, it made me feel at home, different types of people is what I am comfortable with and can feel like I am learning not only from the teachers, and now college professors. I am also constantly learning from the people I am surrounded by, their back stories, culture, and just general outlook on life creates a fantastic learning environment, and in turn, a fantastic living environment.
I can already tell just how great of an experience my first year will be, with such a sense of community built into my LLC, I can imagine that they will be my support system away from my home support system. The fact that I have felt such a strong sense of community already makes me very hopeful for the rest of my year here at Mills.
