When I pulled up to Richmond last weekend to move in and start my sophomore year, I passed Lora Robins Court, commonly referred to as Loro, which was where I lived freshman year, and a huge wave of feelings washed over me. Loro is where all of those freshman year memories lived and where I learned to love Richmond for everything it was and everything college was.

my beautiful hallmates that are still some of my best friends

I was talking to a freshman girl living in Loro who said she wasn't really a big fan of being so far apart from all of the other dorms, and I totally understood what she meant -- a fear that I was missing out because I was so far from the "rest of campus," aka just the guys' dorms. But Loro has the best position and the best spot. Far from everything means you know every girl in that area is a freshman and that you may not know her, but you have the common factor that she is also a freshman girl at Richmond, and honestly, that may be all you need to form the friendship of a lifetime. You're next to dhall, prime for the days you can't imagine walking any farther for a brunch with all 27 of your closest friends to cram into a booth and stay for hours. Loro is tucked away from the thought of seeing boys on your way around the dorm or on your walk to dhall, and as unfortunate as it may seem for the social girl that loves being around guys, when you're in college and living with all of your best friends, the need to get dressed up or put makeup on is eliminated without boys living 500 feet from you. I had so many friends from home that lived with boys right next to their room at their school, and I couldn't even fathom it because it was an aspect of being surrounded by all of your closest girl friends that you knew would be your friends for life. Loro's position and ability to hold so many wonderful people ultimately made my freshman year so wonderful.

So, Loro, thank you for always being there for me. Or rather, thank you for providing me with some of the best memories and best friends a girl could ever ask for in these moments of transitioning to a new school. Thank you for the moments where I could run from A to B to C and then down two flights of stairs without ever entering the lobby. Thank you for the times where I stood outside the dorm without my swipe, praying someone could let me in to the lobby and then again into my wing. Thank you to Loro for having bathrooms in the middle of our hall where I inevitably talked to everyone that came in and formed a great friendship with the girl that lived next to me simply because we always brushed our teeth at the same time at night. Thank you for having common rooms that always had food and candy that girls on my hall were so willing to put out for others to enjoy. Thank you for being able to look out and see so many people coming through the Loro doors down below or walking to the apartments. Thank you for the sofas in the common room that let me go to be by myself and maybe cry a little on a bad day, but there was always someone for comfort. Thank you for the delivery people that always knew where Loro was and that yes, we were ordering that many pizzas for a bunch of freshman girls. Thank you for a "backyard" where we all sat together and painted coolers for away weekends. Thank you for the ability to run quickly between rooms for sorority big/little weeks for friends where we all piled in to watch "strippers." Thank you for allowing me to make so many memories and so many friends, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have had such an unreal freshman year experience.

And as I pulled away from Loro on move-in day, and all through this week of realizing that my friends are now in different dorms across campus, in off-campus locations, in dorms with upperclassmen, in dorms with *gasp* BOYS, it stings a little bit to know that we aren't all so close anymore physically, but thanks to that great freshman dorm, we're all still so close emotionally and for forever.