I would like to begin by commending you on completing the journey through hell that is the undergraduate career. I would now like to say screw you for leaving me here. Kidding, kidding -- kind of.

College has changed me in many ways, and a large portion of that change can be attributed to all of you. In you, I found friends that became family. In you, I found people that I know will stick around. It has only been four short years, but we have forged a bond that is nearly unbreakable. We’ve stuck by each other through all the laughs and good times, and we’ve stood by each other during times of turmoil.

You have contributed to the person I have become, a person who is determined to achieve a happy and prosperous future -- a person who knows she can face anything as long as she has the support of those she loves (i.e, you guys). College is essentially the stepping stone into adulthood, and that journey is a perilous one, with or without people backing you up.

However, I can honestly say that you made my life a little easier. Something about your presence lessened my stress significantly, even in the midst of a homework-induced breakdown. We came to understand each other on a level that I felt I haven’t achieved with many other people, and I will value your friendship until the very last moment of it.

*Sappy: proceed with caution*

In two weeks, I will watch you receive your diploma, and with that, the key to the rest of your life. Although I cannot fathom being on this campus without our impromptu lunch dates or our rants over coffee, I am so beyond proud of everything I have watched you accomplish and everything that I will watch you accomplish in the future. I have no doubt that you will grab life by the throat and excel in whatever you may want to do. Even though you’re abandoning me, I can’t wait to watch you take the next step and do amazing things.

Lastly, I would like to close by reminding you all that I don’t care if I don’t see you several times a week, I will forever be a part of your life, and you will forever be a part of mine. You are the friends that I will grow old with, wake up in the mornings with no recollection of what happened the previous night with, the friends that will deal with my insanity on my wedding day and the friends that will drink wine with me and watch reruns of "Full House" when we’re 50. As I prepare to face my final year in college without you, just know that I am ugly crying (thank God for waterproof eyeliner). I would just like you to know that I’m proud, and you are the ones that will stay with me, wherever the wind may take us.