Dear eduroam,

In case you have forgotten, let me take you through our morning together.

I woke up to a text from my mother reminding me for the fifth time this week that I had gone over my data plan for the month. I texted back explaining that you, eduroam, should take the blame for exceeding my data limit, not me.

Indeed, I had attempted to connect to your Wi-Fi to fuel my addiction to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tinder and, most importantly, Bumble. But, you see, you and my iPhone have never quite been able to maintain a connection.

As I prepared to leave for class, I remembered that I had to print out a document online to bring with me. Good thing I had you to fix this dilemma! I opened my laptop and discovered that, as per usual, my computer could not pair with you, Roamy. I only had a few minutes before class began, and you and I had been playing this game for long enough for me to know you were not about to give in and connect without a fight. No amount of intensely glaring at the four bars of Wi-Fi, waiting for it to calm down and connect, could persuade you. I had no choice but to helplessly look on as the Wi-Fi icon loaded and reloaded, to no avail.

I began to get angry.

Alas, you finally allowed me to access the Internet and print what I needed for class, and despite my earlier angst, I calmed down enough to give you a chance to redeem yourself. My professor instructed us to all log our attendance for the day by signing into a website that he uses to track class participation. I opened up my laptop and was pleasantly surprised to see it had already connected to you. “Is this your olive branch, reaching out to me to make up for your fickle attitude earlier?” I dared wonder. Yet, when I typed the URL into my browser, you refused to load it.

Eduroam, why must you test me like this?

Ed-Ew, must I even recount what occurred after class today? Surely you remember my attempts to load Blackboard to find a document necessary to complete my homework. I wonder if you were laughing at my frustration as I furiously and fruitlessly refreshed the page over and over again.

I often find myself thinking that I loathe you, eduroam. And I do believe that no matter how much I hate you, you will always detest me a little bit more.

But I think that, in a twisted way, our story mirrors a severely messed up love story of sorts, because, well, I will always need you, eduroam. Until I graduate, you and I will continue to do this dance. No matter how disappointed I am in you, I will keep coming back for more. I guess deep down I believe in you, and against all odds, I believe in us.

Regards,

Missed Connections