Freshman Year Interrupted: The Value of Recovery

I took leave in the spring of 2017 because in early December of my freshman year, I got a very bad concussion. At the time I didn't realize how bad it was. I couldn’t finish my finals, even by the end of January when I was supposed to start school again. I was debating whether I should stay, take two or three classes, and try to finish my finals, or go home and rest. I was terrified to leave Brown. I didn’t want to leave after just barely getting settled and finding my place here. I thought it would be hard to come back and that my new friends would move on without me. I thought that by coming back the following fall, I wouldn’t have a support system, and no one would be in the freshman year craze of trying to meet people and make friends. I was also very afraid of FOMO in general and honestly didn’t want to go back and live with my parents again.

I finally decided to take leave two days before classes started. Deep down, I knew it was more important for me to heal and be myself again before returning to school. I didn’t want to spend my time at Brown if I wasn’t fully “there."

Taking leave was the best decision I’ve ever made. At home I focused on healing and spending much-needed time with myself and my family. During my leave I was able to travel and truly reflect on my life in a way I’d never been able to do before. I finished my fall finals in May. Though my symptoms were getting better, I learned how to manage them more and more. I was able to travel to D.C., New Orleans, Italy, Germany, and even back to Brown twice. I was able to keep in contact with my best friends from Brown pretty easily. Being away showed me how much people did care about me, and how lucky I am to be at an amazing place like Brown.

In the summer of 2017, I took one class to readjust myself and push my symptoms back to almost-normal, which was a great transition to coming back to college life. Now, I’m back and so happy I took time off. I’ve learned how to make the best of any situation and take opportunities when I can get them. Honestly, my friends are now jealous that, as a .5er, I have more time to figure out my major and eventually my career. All of them consistently forget I was even gone last year. Though it didn’t seem like it at the time, a semester is such a short amount of time in the perspective of life. I've also been able to make friends in my original class and in the class below me, which has been an unexpected but happy surprise.

Advice for others considering leave:

Honestly, my advice to anyone considering a leave (especially medical) is: take one. You never know how long your body or mind will need to heal, and pushing it will only make your experience worse. I didn’t think I wanted time away from my new friends and new life, but it couldn’t have come at a better time. If you heal quickly, good for you! You can do something productive with your time other than school. I am a much more grateful person today because of my leave experience.