Dear College,

Why must you go by so fast? It seems like just yesterday, I was touring campus for the first time. My nervous, anxious, awkward high-school self, wandering around your campus trying to see if I would fit in here. A few years later, I'm not halfway done with school and questioning where the time has gone.

These past two years have flown by, and although I get more than a little excited when breaks are near, I miss you more than I want to admit. I love coming home, but it's just not the same. I miss having my friends down the hall, going out on weekends and even staying in the library until late. I miss grabbing lunch with my friends and making a ridiculous amount of trips to Target during the semester. College, you have brought me some of the best memories, and for that, I am thankful.

As winter break is coming to an end and we're starting spring semester, I realize I never want college to end. I love being with my friends 24/7, laughing about the dumbest things or going to the dining hall at 2 am just because we can. I love having a sense of routine, going to classes, the library and the gym. I love being one step closer to getting a degree, but hate being one step closer to graduating. College is a lot of hard work and full of breakdowns and tear-filled calls to mom, but that doesn't mean we want it to end. We never want to leave our friends or our campus for too long.

It's hard to be away from a place that now feels like home. Instead of having mom and dad there, we have our friends that turned into family. Instead of having home-cooked meals, we have food from the dining hall. But that's OK. The memories we make and the amount of fun we have is worth it in the end. College, you've been the best time so far, it's sad to see that soon you'll be over.