As you start to unpack your things in your 12-foot by 18-foot dorm room you instantly begin to miss your bed, your house, but most of all, your home friends. You start to wonder if you will ever meet a group of girls who understand you and your weird, crazy sense of humor as well as your BFFs.

Once your parents leave and the crying is over, you and your roommate start to make your rounds on your floor knocking on random doors and introducing yourselves to everyone possible. You end up with about 40 new contacts in your phone and a million incoming messages saying, “ Hey this is __________ from room ___ ”.

After going to the dining hall together everyday (not eating the food willingly), spending days and nights out together, and studying for that impossible calc exam until 4 a.m., you start to realize that you have made an amazing group of girlfriends. These girls start to become a great addition to your life both at school and at home. After all, they were there for a lot of firsts — the first time you overslept and missed that exam you stayed up all night cramming for, the first time you walked home in your outfit from the night before without a key or fob to your dorm, and the first time you finally spoke to that guy you’ve been eyeing in the dining hall for about three months.

I’d like to thank this group of girls for a few things:

Thank you for letting me borrow your clothes, I could never look as trendy and put together if it wasn’t for your brutal honesty.

Thank you for being my home away from home. From eating every meal together every day to walking to class and going out together, these girls truly become your second family.

Thank you for reminding me to study, but also being completely willing to ditch our homework for a Nicholas Sparks movie night. Those nights spent together kept me sane.

Thank you for forcing me to go out even when I’m in one of my “I hate everyone” moods. Without you, I would have missed out on a crazy amount of memories.

Lastly, thank you for an amazing freshman year. Thank you for the countless pep talks, nights spent watching Netflix and stuffing our faces, Wawa runs, and nights spent at our favorite frat screaming every word to our favorite throwback. My freshman year would truly not have been the same without you guys.

Here’s to the memories we’ve made and many more to come!