Here I am in the thick of my junior year. It seems like just yesterday I left home for college. I remember the thing I was most nervous for was the people I was going to meet. Turns out the people who lived in my residence hall my first year left lasting impressions that I am forever grateful for--from pranking the boys on the third floor, to the late night Canes run, to packing all of our memories up and going home for the summer. Three years later, in the home stretch to graduation, who knew we would become the leaders of our organizations, captains of our sports teams, applying to internships or settling down into serious relationships. To the people who lived in Clements Hall with me freshman year, thanks for all of the memories.
To my first roommate, thanks for helping me get through my first year of college. From helping each other with broken hearts to joining the same sorority, thanks for being a great friend. It's amazing to see how determined and hardworking you are. You're doing great things and I can't wait to see the places you will go.
To the girl who got into our residence hall on accident and got stuck with the foreign exchange student: who knew you would become one of my best friends? I remember asking to always borrow your cookie sheet and bonding over making cupcakes for your 18th birthday. Who knew that a year later we would become roommates and lifelong friends? I love you and your family so much. You are beautiful and smart and have the whole world in your hands.
To the guy upstairs who I flirted with and snuck up to your room to watch movies with, you taught me to make sure to ask a guy if he has a girlfriend first before spending the night. While it was all fun and games until I found out I wasn't the only girl, you taught me to have thick skin and trust my instincts.
To the girl who left after freshman year and transferred to a different school, we all miss you. It seems like you're having a lot of fun and I think we're all a little jealous. Don't worry though, we won't forget the night you drank a little too much and we had to sneak you upstairs and get you in the shower.
To the girls who went through recruitment with me, who knew we would all end up finding homes in different sororities? I don't think we quite grasped the concept of how much time recruitment and new member education were going to take up, but somehow we made it through those six weeks together. Here we are the presidents of our chapters and the recruitment chairs for the next group of girls to go through. I'm so happy we all found our own home but still had our residence hall to go back to at the end of the night.
To the girls at the end of the hall who I didn't get to know at the time. Who knew that we would end up being roommates together in our first apartment? I regret so much not getting to know you then. You girls are such amazing people and fun to be around. Thanks for surviving the awful Otterbein residence selection process with me.
To the guy who ended up being social chair with me and being in charge of Greek Week with, you make being stressed out fun. Even though the entirety of Greek Week lies in our hands, I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. You're a leader in and out of Greek life, and who knew that we would end up being kick ass partners?
To the girl who ended up having the same major as me, you will never know how much you have helped me. From bonding over how hard accounting is, to facing our scary adviser, to sharing our love for shopping, you are an amazing friend. Who knew that we would end up having every single class together for the rest of our lives to being interns for the same company?
To my Resident Assistants, thanks for being there. I am so thankful to have had such chill RAs. From texting you guys in the middle of the night because I wasn't feeling good or letting us tell you about how we cracked "The Da Vinci Code" of boys, you guys were great RAs.
To the girl who from the middle of a cornfield in nowhere Ohio, thanks for becoming my best friend. From going to our first club together, to being there for me when my parents fell on financial hardship, to joining the same sorority as me, to dealing with Tinder guys, you will never know what our friendship means to me. You are the most inspiring person I have ever met. You are the best at giving advice and listening to me rant on and on. One day you will be in my wedding and be the cool aunt to my kids, I love you.
I will never forget the people I met freshman year and all of the memories we made together. I can't wait to see where we will all end up, but we can say it all started in Clements Hall.
