As I sit in the airport waiting to board my flight home after my first semester at college, I can’t help but reflect upon the past four months. It feels like yesterday I was walking through this same airport for the first time as a Wolverine with my mom by my side. I was nervous yet excited, scared of yet ready for change and most importantly terrified of the unknown. It wasn't long before these uneasy feelings subsided, and I was falling in love with my new school.

First semester is now in the books, and it couldn't have gone better… or faster. Since I was thirteen and wanted to be eighteen, I’ve been told not to rush anything; life will move fast enough as it is. Each and every time, I thought to myself. “I just want to grow up. I want to be a teenager and I want to go to college.” Here I am, a teenager already done with a semester of college, and I truly cannot believe it. I will say, senior year of high school went pretty quickly, but how in the world is it already winter break?

To sum it up, my first semester as a college student was nothing short of amazing. These past few months have truly exceeded my expectations. It sounds cliche, but I couldn't have done it without my college friends. I’m so fortunate to have met people who have made college so special.

To my roommate, and luckily my best friend, thank you for putting up with me, for crying with me when our parents left after move in (and many times after that), for letting me vent and freak out, for laughing with me and cuddling with me, and for literally only leaving my side to go to class.

When times got hard, and trust me, they did, I had my people by my side, and my mom is always just a FaceTime away. Whether it was the wrath of rush, stress over an exam that I waited till the last minute to study for, a paper that I didn’t know exactly how to write or that “I need home so badly” feeling, there was always a hug waiting for me if I needed it. College isn’t always easy, but the good certainly outweighs the bad.

I never realized how fast four months could fly by until today when I left campus for the airport. I’ve learned so much about myself and the people around me in what felt like such a short period of time, and I wouldn’t change a minute of it. I’ve grown up and become much more independent, even though I am guilty of spending way too much time on the phone with my mom.

My best advice is to live in the moment and always remember how fast time flies. It is too often that we forget to recognize how short life is and how much we have to be grateful for. Do things you love with people who make you happy, and remember that college is all about what you make it, so make it great!