Yes, the glory days are officially over. We knew this day was coming, but the preparation didn't make it any easier. We ran around in those overwhelmingly hot graduation caps and gowns pretending to be happier than we actually were. We congratulated our friends while everyone told us how proud they were, and it didn't make the time move any more slowly.

Some of us moved back home while others moved away. Some of us got jobs and others are still looking. Some of us are going to graduate school and others are joining the military. Whatever path you chose or had to go with, one thing is for certain:

We will miss this.

All our lives, people told us how much fun college is. You finally get freedom from your parents, but you're not completely on your own. You make friends who turn into bridesmaids or groomsmen. You gain a new family of best friends and learn to be more independent. But they failed to say how much it hurts. Of course, finals week makes us all want to drop out at one point or another, and the course loads get out of control once the semester gets going. Despite all that, I think I speak for all of us when I say we will miss these times more than anything.

Graduation is supposed to be the best day of our college career, but with it comes loss and sadness. We no longer get to walk next door to our best friend's house or dorm room. We no longer get to spend long nights in the library studying with friends that are just as stressed as we are. We no longer have an excuse to stay up all night and get cookout or pizza at two in the morning. Graduation is full of no longers and no mores.

It's also full of goodbyes. Goodbye to all my roommates. Goodbye to my sorority sisters or fraternity brothers. Goodbye to my classmates. Goodbye to the friends that were there for me through everything. We all have to say a million goodbyes while hoping they'll only turn into a simple see you later.

Graduation is an amazing day, but it also brings a million worries and things stress over. While we're all sad and missing the days that came to an end all too soon, we're also terrified for what lies ahead.

Now, we have to get jobs and think about the benefits. We have to pay bills without really knowing what all the money goes towards. We get our own health, car, and life insurances and may even be living in a completely new and foreign place. We have a lot to learn about this world where we must fend for ourselves.

But I'm here to say, "It's going to be okay." In the midst of all my anxiety, I know that it's all going to work out. We're all going to find our own places in this big world, and we're all going to be okay.

We're going to be okay, because, with those coveted degrees, we gained more than a little knowledge about our narrowed down majors and minors. We gained knowledge about what it takes to move into a completely new place and find our way. We did it when we moved in as freshmen, and look at us now.

Now, we're graduates.

We're going to make mistakes. We're going to have successes. We're going to see some of our good college friends, and we're going to make new ones. We're going to be okay because now we have more confidence. We have been through this all before. Yes, it was scary then and it is scary now, but it won't be scary forever.

Sincerely,

A fellow graduate.