Today didn’t actually begin. Yesterday continued. With no curfew, we stayed up all night, eating pizza, signing MUNTH books, and crying over departures that we hoped would never come. As 8:00 am rolled around, the last 15 of us stumbled down to breakfast to enjoy our final bagels and bowls of cereal. We chatted about our plans for August and prepared ourselves for the last few goodbyes. Little did we know, a large majority of us would soon be reunited as we waited for a seven-hour fog delay to Toronto. However, the sleep-deprived Shads all chose this time to snooze on the airport floor, knowing that nothing else needed to be said. We all knew we wouldn’t forget this unbelievable experience and the people who made it so incredible.
After all is said and done, I have one piece of advice for the Shads: don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
Rachel Kirby, Shad Valley Memorial University of Newfoundland 2010
Hometown: Guelph, Ontario
