First Lady Rosalynn Carter once said, “There is nothing more important than a good, safe, secure home.”

Located 30 minutes south of Springfield,  growing up in the small town of Taylorville, Illinois — I always thought that was home. It still is in many aspects, too, but while attending the University for the past four years, I’ve found a new home at Newman Hall.

In October 2018, I wrote that Newman Hall is my home away from home. Now, as a senior and having lived at Newman since freshman year, my stance is still the same.

From the moment I first stepped foot out of the car at Newman a week before freshman year’s dawn, I entered a whole new world — not only at the University but at Newman. As Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” blasted from a nearby boom box, it was the perfect song to welcome me home. Through the song, Newman told me: “You belong with me.”

As the weeks and years carried on, I’ve made countless new friends, many of whom I still talk to today and are some of my best friends. I’ve grown closer to the Newman community, especially the lunch ladies who never mind making me a BLT when they can. I’ve evolved and matured as a student and person at Newman.

Whether down the halls, in the lounges, enjoying the café or in my room, it’s been a gratifying roller coaster ride of memories and fun. I’ve shared countless meals with friends, passed exams, written songs and my first book, discovered my adult beverages of choice, performed songs on guitar and slowly, over time, have developed into a version of myself I’m proud of.

Without Newman, I wouldn’t have had the college experience I have had these past four years. After rough days or times when I’m high on life, I knew I wasn’t coming back to Newman, I was coming back home.

When I first wrote about Newman three years ago, I said that it was a welcoming community that made you feel at home. Those words are still true today.

Newman has welcomed this small-town kid home and delivered him a college experience all the more delightful and memorable.

Most college students, especially those at the University, despise dorms and choose to live in apartments, houses or with fraternities and sororities. I could never leave Newman. It’s been my happy place, a safe location; it’s been home.

I can’t thank Newman enough for everything it has done for me. Who would’ve thought that my freshman year dorm would be my home for four years. Great memories were produced here, and there’s no doubt I will make more during the rest of senior year.

Wherever life may take you, you’ll always find your way back home. For my college journey, my route home always led through Newman.

Noah is a senior in Media.

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