Today was graduation day, and not only was it graduation day but today was the day that I had to say goodbye to some of my senior friends that have truly inspired my life. These people are some of my teammates, and some of my friends. These people are just amazing human beings and have so much wisdom and knowledge, and I will miss them terribly next year. Today was almost a glimpse into the future and the realization that people enter your life and make an amazing impact, but at one point they must leave to go off and live their own life - they have to go off into the real world.

It happens every year. You make friends, you grow close to them, and then some of them graduate and leave to begin real life. You’ve known them for such a short amount of time and yet such a short amount of time can really affect you in many different ways. They might be off to grad school, or med school, or off to the work force. Hell, they might even go off to travel the world. They might come back to visit, or you might never see them again, but odds are, these people that you’ve made friends with have somehow influenced your life in some way.

These people are the type of people that are your role models in life. They’ve taken you under their wing and helped you develop and grow as an individual. You have stories with these people and you’ve watched them complete milestones in their life, as well as make a friendship with you. These people have a special place in your heart, and one of the suckiest things in life is having to watch them leave.

These seniors have taught me how to live life, and how to make the most out of the four years in college - how to have fun, but not too much fun. These people have taught me how to not take life too seriously and to cherish every minute spent in school and learning and living. These people will never be forgotten, and I am so thankful for the memories I have gotten to make with them this past year.

From sporting events, to parties, to classes, to study sessions, these people have been through it all, and have made a large impact on my college experience. Goodbyes truly suck, but there is good in goodbye when you know how amazing their lives after college will be. These seniors have been my people to look up to, and to admire. They are examples of the fact that you can survive and make it through college. There are many things that I wouldn’t have learned had it not been for some of the seniors, and I cannot wait to see what they do in life.

So thank you to the graduating class of 2016. My college memories would not be the same without you all there to experience part of it with me. Have fun out there in the real world.