It's not goodbye, it's I'll see you later. It's not the end, it's only a new beginning.

You hear these sayings all the time, but never think much of them. As a senior in college, they become real. You don't want to think about what the future holds and where you will go after college. You don't want to leave the people you have become so close to in the past four years. You want to savor every minute of the last nine months you have left with your best friends.

During move-in weekend, you and your friends became overcome with emotion, knowing this was the last time you would all be together. It was the last time you would be able to go out every night of "syllabus week" just because you wanted to. On the first day of classes, you became overcome with emotion because it was the last time you would walk to class with the uneasiness of not knowing who would be there and the uncertainty of how many assignments the teacher would assign. Soon you will be overcome with emotion as you leave on your last spring break trip and then you will have to face the reality of graduation day. It may be one of the hardest days you have experienced to date, but it has to happen.You will move onto the real world and one thing is for sure: you will make it.

Four years ago, you never imagined yourself in this position. You were a scared freshman meeting your roommate for the first time, wondering if your college experience would live up to what you saw in the movies. Along the way, things may have gotten complicated, but you finally made it. You have made it to the end of sixteen years full of classes, friends and drama. You probably don't remember anything you learned in first grade, but every stage of your education is what made you who you are today.

Instead of stressing about the lasts of college, live in the moment. Don't worry about the test you have tomorrow. Don't worry about the four assignments you have due next week. Live in the moment, because soon everything will just be a memory. Academics won't entirely matter as most of your learning takes place on the job. Take every opportunity to hang out with friends and make memories that will last well beyond college.

Imagine not being able to live with your best friends. Imagine not having complete freedom over the decisions you make. The scariest time of your life is happening, and there is nothing we can do to control it. After going to school for the past sixteen years, it is finally time to move on. Graduating college may be scarier than the uneasiness of not knowing anyone on your first day of high school because you have no clue what's next. There is no formal structure for you to return to. It is simply you and your college degree. What will you make of it?