I've been a Notre Dame fan for as long as I can remember. Literally ...

I love Saint Mary's with all of my heart, but I must admit that Notre Dame was one of the reasons I looked at Saint Mary's in the first place. Notre Dame football has been something that has united my family for many years; I grew up eating good food and watching ND football games every Saturday with them. When I was accepted to Saint Mary's and realized I was going to be able to spend the next four football seasons in the Notre Dame student section, I flipped. (Maybe my wannabe cheer skills paid off.)

It was an unbelievable four years, to say the least. I made it to the front row once or twice, did countless touchdown push-ups and Irish jigs, and sang the Alma Mater every time.

We slowly, but surely grew up and moved a section over each year and gained more laughs, wins, (and losses...come on, ND).

I'm pretty sure we witnessed literally every weather condition imaginable inside this stadium over the past four years. Heat, rain, snow, wind - we've seen it all (and even hid inside the bathroom to warm up at times).

But, what though the odds be great or small, we were there to cheer for the Irish through it all.

Saturday, November 19, 2016, was my last Notre Dame football game in the student section. The day was filled with a lot of tears, marshmallows, and hugs. From the second we woke up, my entire group of friends and I couldn’t help but feel emotional. Maybe it’s because it was freezing cold and snowing outside, but mostly it was because it was time to start the lasts.

It may seem silly, but hey, this was our last game day breakfast, our last tailgate walk to campus, and our last time going into the stadium. Sure, we’ll probably get to do all of these things again in the future, but the next time we do it, we won’t be students. We’ll be...alumna. *shudders*

I think I cried for a majority of the game: this wasn’t a joke anymore and we weren’t okay. We couldn’t wipe our tears and say, don’t worry, we still have next year! Because we don’t. This is it. It’s actually happening and I’m not even slightly prepared for what’s to come.

While I wish those marshmallows would’ve kept me literally stuck in the student section forever...I guess it’s time to start moving on. The best is yet to come...or something like that.

Thanks for a great four years, ND football. Cheer, cheer for you, old Notre Dame. We'll be back again soon.