Dear anyone and everyone who I have seen or interacted with since August 23,

As I approach the end of two-thirds of my first semester at college, there are a few things that I have realized and that I would like to address. Some of you may have seen me sulking around the past week, getting ticked off by little things and complaining about midterms. I feel like every college student has that one week that you can’t wait to be over and, for me, it was this week. Now that the week is over, I realized that it wasn’t that bad. Moreover, I realized that a lot of times when I interact with others, whether it is my friends or family, I rattle off a list of work that I need to do. The truth is, I go to college to work to get an education, but, more importantly, I am having the time of my life here. So, I want to take this opportunity not necessarily to apologize, but hopefully to make up for the things that I have not said over the past six months. Thank you!

If you’re reading this article and have had any interaction with me whatsoever over the past months, I would genuinely like to say, "Thank you." Moving into college is definitely a big step. It's often one that people (like me) say that they’re ready for, but that they have second thoughts about inside. I will be the first to say that, since the moment that I moved in, college has not exactly been smooth sailing, but I am so thankful for the people who I have met and the experiences that I have had. To the strangers who hold the door or elevator for me, thank you for your politeness and in response to those who don’t, at least I got in a little exercise trying to scramble for the door–you’re keeping me on my toes. To the people who I only spoke to during orientation, thanks for smiling back as we cross paths and I go through the awkward internal debate on whether or not I should smile and say “Hi!” It is so much nicer to walk around campus when you know familiar faces.

For those who I have met through clubs and organizations, thank you for encouraging me to not get stuck in the academic bubble and for being a source of entertainment. Thanks to peer mentors who have gone through the same things before and who told me that life may suck, but it will go on and everything will be OK! I do not think that my description of college would be complete without addressing food, so I definitely have to give a shout out to the dining staff for not judging me (at least visibly) when I always ask for the same food every day.

To the know-it-alls who sit in class, answering every question with enthusiasm, (even if it is meant to be a rhetorical question,) as much I may role my eyes, thank you for making class entertaining.

I guess that life at college would not be complete without addressing the professors, who make or break a class. Even if your class does push me to the brink of tears at times, thank you for imparting your wisdom, both academically and from your life lessons. It is so weird to think that there are so many people who impact my every day, whose names that I don’t even know, but who I am so appreciative of.

If I ended my thank-yous there, I probably would have gotten a talking-to from my friends and family and rightly so! Thank you mom and dad for sending me packages, for listening to me complain, and for always being so supporting. Being close to my family definitely made it harder to leave home last fall, but it also has made my freshman year that much more manageable by knowing that there was always someone I can call and talk to.

Last, but most certainly not least, thank you, friends. To my friends from home, thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedules to video chat with me and goof off. To the friends and floormates who I only met last August, thank you for staying up late with me, going to get food with me even though you’ve already eaten, and making me feel like I'm at home, hundreds of miles away from my house. I still find it a weirdly bizarre concept that during your freshmen year you move in with a stranger and are expected to share a room for nine months, but it just might be one of the best parts of college due to knowing that I have a friend who’s going through similar things as me and who I can always talk to.

This may sound like a glorified version of life as a freshman in college and it is. There are also days where I’m swamped with work and I feel like I cannot afford to leave my desk, but the aspects described above are the reasons why I wake up every morning. If you are a freshman in college, are getting ready to start next fall, or have already graduated, I know that your freshman year will be or has been unforgettable. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the school year holds!

Thanks,

A College Freshman