And just like that, another year of college is over. And while it was happening, it seemed like it would last forever. But now, as I sit here with 3 months of summer and one year of school between me and graduation, it seems quick. In some ways, I feel like I just stepped on campus as a freshman and blinked. In other ways, college feels like a place I've been forever, one that has felt more like home than I ever imagined.
Junior year was so different than the rest. Maybe it was the feeling of being an upperclassmen, of actually feeling the number of days left on campus dwindling. Maybe it was the amount of growing up happening all around me. But junior year just felt different, different good and bad. But different none the less.
Junior year was a year of firsts. The first time I lived off campus, truly on my own. The first time I actually cooked (beyond toast and cookies). The first time I took 18 hours in one semester. The first time I was overwhelmed with responsibilities, from school to clubs to work. The first time I applied for a professional job.
Junior year was a year of change. It saw friendships tested and strengthened. It saw new friendships form and old ones fade. It saw me becoming more of an adult, learning about responsibility. It saw me planning for the future, and actually being really excited about it instead of just terrified.
Junior year was a year of growth. It saw me faltering and getting back up. It saw me investing in things I was truly passionate about.
So junior year, thanks for all of that and more. Thanks for being another great year on the best campus on earth. Thanks for helping me become more of who I am meant to be. I appreciate it.
Here's to junior year, and here's to senior year (which I've got a feeling is going to be the best one yet).