The Little Things I’m not Ready to Miss
Written by Jax Warner. Graphic by Avery Melhado.
There’s a good chance I’ve already lived some of my favorite days at SCAD without realizing it. They probably weren’t the days when something extraordinary happened, they were the ordinary ones: walking to class, meeting a friend for coffee, or staying up too late to finish an assignment. On Nov. 19, I’ll graduate, and those everyday moments will begin turning into memories, before I’ve even had the chance to recognize them.
I’ve spent so much time looking forward to what comes next that I haven’t given much thought to what I’m already living through. I know I’ll miss my friends, the city, and the familiarity of being a student. What I’m less prepared for are the smaller things I’ll miss: the coffee before class, the conversations that stretch longer than expected, and the routines I complain about now, but might someday wish I could have back.
I think I’ll miss the routines the most. Walking the same routes across the city without thinking about where I’m going. Seeing familiar faces in the same places, even if we only have time for a quick conversation. Getting coffee before an early class and convincing myself that I’m going to be productive that day. These moments barely register while they’re happening, little pieces of the day that seem too ordinary to remember. It’s difficult to imagine missing something you currently do without second thought, but I suspect that’s exactly how nostalgia begins.
I’ll probably miss the conversations that happen between everything else, too. The ones that start because someone is sitting next to you in class and somehow turn into an entire afternoon. The conversations about assignments, movies, professors, and whatever else we need to complain about that week. That’s how I met my best friend. Right now, they’re simply part of being here. Eventually, they’ll become part of the stories I tell about college, probably leaving out the details that made them funny at the time, and wishing I could remember every word.
One memory I know I’ll carry with me is seeing “Frankenstein” at the 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival. My new friends and I waited seven hours in the cold just to watch the movie, which is an absurd amount of time to spend sitting outside, especially when the weather makes you question every decision that brought you there. But it was worth it. After watching the film and listening to Oscar Isaac talk about it, we got the chance to meet him immediately afterward. Getting to see my most anticipated film of the year, hear from one of its stars, and meet him just moments later was the kind of experience I could only hope for. But when I look back on that day, I know I’ll remember the people beside me just as much as the film itself. We were still new friends, and spending seven hours waiting together gave us a story to share almost as soon as we met. I went to the festival for the movie and left with a memory that was just as much about the people I experienced it with.
There are plenty of things about college I won’t miss. The stress, the deadlines, the constant sense that there is always something else I should be doing. I know I’ll be relieved when I no longer have to organize my life around a class schedule. But I’m beginning to recognize how closely the frustrations are tied to the things I care about. The late nights happen because I’m making something. The deadlines came with opportunities to write about the subjects I love. Even the busiest days are built around a life I chose for myself.
Graduating in the fall makes everything a little stranger. While other people are still moving through the familiar rhythm of another quarter, I’m preparing to leave mine behind. There won’t be one final moment when everything suddenly feels finished. The days will keep coming, and I’ll keep going to class, seeing friends, and following my usual routines until, eventually, they aren’t my routine anymore.
On Nov. 19, I’ll walk away with a finished degree and whatever comes next. I’m excited for that. I want to see what happens when things I’ve studied and worked toward become part of my everyday life. But I’m also trying to pay closer attention to the present, to the ordinary afternoons and seemingly insignificant conversations that make up a life without announcing their importance.
Maybe the hardest part of leaving SCAD is knowing I probably won’t recognize the last time I did most of these things. There won’t be a sign telling me to take one more walk across the city or stay a little longer with my friends. I’ll just be living another day, unaware that someday I might give anything to have it back.
