Dear Y/N,

Have a great summer—but also, a great life since I’m moving back to the United States and will probably never see you again! We’ve had such fun times over the last few years, going to classes (sometimes), hitting the bars (every weekend), and making memories (that I’ll refuse to tell my children about when they’re older). There’s just so much to look back on when it comes to our time at McGill—think about all the different buildings we’ve gotten to study and sob in.

“Leacock smells like a school gymnasium, and I can’t really explain it, but I think maybe I’ll miss it, but maybe not, who knows?” (Basil Atari, U2 Arts)

I will always remember the sparkling sights of McGill’s downtown campus—when it’s not covered in icy, gross snow, of course. One of my most treasured memories is sitting outside on the picnic benches near Lower Field, waiting to spot Cloudberry and all his little buddies.

“Those squirrels are really fat!” (Ruo Ning Wang, U1 Science)

And who could forget Mac campus? Well, technically me, since I’ve never been. 

“Mac campus should be more represented at McGill.” (Sky Castaing, U3 Science)

I know I never really talked about anything going on outside of the McGill bubble and, now that I’m graduating and leaving the country, I probably never will. But somebody should totally do that. Pour one out for all the apples, asbestos, and absence of food resources! Speaking of the which:

“Asbestos will put us back online.” (Olivia Benguigui, U2 Kinesiology)

Oh, the Zoom University days! I vaguely remember hearing about McGill’s long history of pretending student activism doesn’t exist, ignoring the needs of marginalized and disabled students, and doing the bare minimum to acknowledge the settler-colonialist history of the campus, our namesake’s rise to power, and island of Montreal.

“COVID f***** half my school year and McGill has given me nothing else, so f*** you McGill.” (Afreen Mithaiwalla, U3 Arts)

I would be remiss to talk about McGill memories without talking about what we pay the most for: Our education. I know we always sat in the back of lectures so we could play 2048 and take naps without the judgement of other students, but sometimes, a professor would say something so poignant it would capture even our attention.

“‘Bald is beautiful.’ —Sidney Trudeau.” (Vanessa Quinn, U2 Kinesiology).

I will always treasure the nights spent in one of our apartments, watching movies, judging people on social media, and sharpening our cooking skills by trying new flavours of ramen soup packages. For the meme, here were some of my favourite records—from our shared notes app file—of these nights:

“Don’t trust what would swallow you.” —Julian Cashwan-Pratt (Charlie Zacks, U1 Arts)

“Water off a duck’s back.” —Jinkx Monsoon (Maya Kendall, U1 Arts)

“How are you going to be a revolutionary if you’re such a traditionalist?” —La La Land (Mitchell Horwood, U4 Arts)

As we split off into the next phase of our lives, I’m not sure we’ll ever see each other in Montreal again. But it’s heartwarming to think back on how enthusiastic and optimistic we were when we first started at McGill—we are practically the inspiration for the “how it started, how it’s going” meme format.

“McGill has been, so far, the best two years I’ve had in Montreal!” (Jade Smith, U2 Arts)

I love you so much, Y/N. You’ve been there for me through it all. But like, I wouldn’t name my kid after you, no offence. XOXO, bestie! 

“I expect you to pay for my therapist after graduating.” (Alexander Joly, U1 Science)