Dear Sasha,

I'm hoping you don't burst in the door as I write this, because I have full intentions of surprising you with this somewhat sappy letter of thanks... so stay in chem lab for just a bit longer or take the scenic route home and avoid the silver loop bus!

Let's start with 2 words I don't think I have shared with you enough, thank you.

Thank you for deciding to room with me 3 short weeks after we began talking even though we had never met in person and wouldn't get to meet until we moved in on August 12 (which was about 6 months away). Our conversations when we first talked were typical, we asked each other about our respective home states, majors, hobbies, interests, families, friends, and every other cliché ice breaker conversation topic we could think about. I distinctly remember us bonding over our shared ties to my home, Texas, yours being your father and mine being the fact that I was born and raised there.

You spoke highly of my home and it made me so happy, because I love nothing more than sharing my Texan pride with those who understand it. At times I wish I had a connection to Connecticut so you could feel the same thing I did, but alas you were the first person I met who hailed from the Northeast. Such simple conversations led us to contractually agree to live in the same confined space with one another for an entire academic year and I can say wholeheartedly that I have never once regretted my decision

Thank you for being there to comfort me when I go on an emotional bender from being homesick or am faced with paralyzing bouts of anxiety. Thank you for listening to me complain about the woes of pharmacy curriculum every night as I attempt to not drown in organic chemistry. Thank you for listening to me rant about political and cultural events even if you don't necessarily agree, but you know that I just like having someone listen to what I have to say.

It means the world to me having someone who I am in constant contact with being such an empathetic source. You have truly mastered the art of relating to those around you to better comfort them.

Thank you for always encouraging me to do my best and always being the first person to commend my improvements, no matter how small they are. Whether it be on an academic basis or a health/fitness basis, you consistently motivate me to read longer, solve more problems, run longer, lift heavier, or in the grand scheme of things just try harder. Having your motivation in my ear keeps me from getting discouraged or succumbing to the internal voice that tries to convince me that I won't amount to anything.

When I do have victories, you are always the first person to commend me on them: when I became a writer for the Odysessy who was there first to shout a few "yays"? That's right, YOU. Or when I went to my first therapy session for my anxiety, who asked me about how it went and if I found it helpful? Yep, you.

Or most recently, when I found out I got a 100 on a notoriously hard organic chemistry quiz, who gave me a huge high five and expressed how proud they were? You, Sasha Elizabeth Nerney! Like, boy, am I blessed to have such a huge support system right next to me, I thank my lucky stars for you every day.

Finally, thank you for being my first friend at Purdue. We both moved so far from home and neither of us knew more than 1 or 2 other people coming here, so for you to be more than willing to join me for meals or go to callouts with me meant the world. Maybe, in the beginning, it felt like we were only friends of circumstance, but now that we've lived together since August I can truly say that our friendship is authentic.

You have become a rock for me here in West Lafayette and I know I can go to you with anything at any time and you won't judge me for a second. You have become my ally and closest confidante on campus. You have become one of the faces I look forward to seeing each day as we share the many details of our lives that we don't share together.

Most of all? You have become a reminder that moving so far from my friends back home still brought me happiness, my friend, you have brought such a bright light to my life and I am eternally grateful for that.

My parting statements are that I hope I have brought about the same emotions in you or at least to some extent make you feel like you didn't make a mistake in who you chose to room with, I can't wait to room together again next year, and you're actually the coolest and best person I know on campus (excluding the man under the Purdue Pete costume)!

Yours truly,

Cassie