Dear College,
I’ve never been the best at accepting that all good things must come to an end, but after four long years together, I felt that it was necessary to take a moment to reflect. I need to tell you that before I came here, the only thing I heard about you is that you would be, “the best four years of my life.” I wondered about who my new friends would be, my classes, and what the parties would be like that I would go to. But, I can tell you that I never could’ve imagined the journey that these past four years have been. In exchange for all that you have given me, I feel as though the least I can do is say thank you.
First and foremost, I would like to thank you for the person that you have made me. The truth is that I will forever look at the campus I called home for four years, and I will see every evolving step of myself that has grown up here. The scared freshman, the confused sophomore, the stressed junior, and the in denial senior. I want to thank you for teaching me about how scary it was to not be sure of what I wanted, and how hard it actually is to figure out what I want for the rest of my life. It is here that I learned that I will not always succeed. Sometimes, no matter how much I try, I will fail, and that this is okay as long as I keep going. It is here that I experienced some of my deepest heartbreaks. I learned about the person I am, and the person I want to be. I know now that becoming this person is a work in progress that happens every single day. This campus has seen me at both my very best moments, and my very worst moments. I would not be who I am today without them both, and for that, I am grateful.
Secondly, I would like to thank you for the people that I have met along this journey, because I would not have made it without any of them. The people that ran around blindly with me freshman year, trying to figure this whole college thing out. The people I sat at dinner with every night, and the people I spent hours with at breakfast discussing the night before. The people that I have learned so much about in these four years. And I’m not talking only about things like their favorite animal or their siblings’ names. I’m talking about the fact that I know the number to put the dial on to toast their bagel. I know which one of my friends will be ready first for the pregame, and I know how they each like their coffee. Half the time I can finish their sentences, and I know all the words to the songs that have become our group anthem. I am forever grateful for the fact that I can think of about 800 different ways to end a sentence if it begins with, “remember that time in college when we…” They are the people that I have said hello to every morning, and goodnight to every night for the past four years, and I’m not sure how exactly to imagine a life without that anymore.
I’m not going to lie, college, there are plenty of things about you that I won’t miss at all. I won’t miss stressing about three tests, a paper, and a presentation. I won’t miss studying for days and still failing the test, or the days when I doubted that I would make it. I won’t miss sleepless nights, or the days I had to stay in on the weekend to do homework instead of enjoying a beautiful, sunny day. But I will tell you that I will miss coming home from a night out and sitting on the kitchen floor with all of my friends to eat everything we have in the fridge. I will miss coming home to a house full of people to watch a movie. I will miss looking across the bar to signal to each other that our favorite song is on. I will miss the days we all woke up early for a day-drink or a tailgate. I will miss driving to Dunkin Donuts in the clothes I wore out last night and fell asleep in. Even though I know everyone will be a phone call or text message away, I will miss the days that it was only the wall that we shared that separated us.
I’ll never forget what it was like to walk to class on the first crisp days of fall when you finally needed a jacket. Or the joyous days when class would be canceled due to the first days of snow. I’ll miss the feeling of the first days of spring that helped restore my faith that I would make it through yet another spring semester. I believe that I will oddly miss the library. Never in my life did I think that sentence would come out of my mouth, but after spending so many hours there, you get kind of attached.
So, college, I can tell you that you were far from the smooth ride that I expected, and I’ve never been more grateful to be so wrong. This is the first time in my life where I am very unsure of what comes next. However, you taught me that it’s okay to be unsure. You’ve led me to accomplishments that I once only dreamed of, and you have pushed me to limits I did not think I could reach. I know that the struggle has only made me stronger and more prepared, and the next step is to move onto something bigger. I like to believe that the best years of my life aren’t over at the age of 21, and that there are just as many great days ahead, but I have to admit, you’ve proven to be a tough competitor.
Yours truly,
Your Soon-to-be-Alumni