Dear dorm room,

We've had so many memories over the past 8 months, from move-in day in August to getting ready to move out in May. You were there for so many important moments of my first year of college, and the memories I had with you will last forever.

You were there when I first met the girl I had awkwardly talked to on Facebook a couple times during the summer. She and I were both pretty homesick once our parents left, but we didn't want to show it and make our first meeting any more awkward than it already was. We went from never having met to living in extremely close quarters in less than 24 hours, and you were there through it all.

You helped me form a strong friendship with a girl I had barely known until we slept five feet away from each other. In the first week, we bonded over your strange beds that never seem to roll out or in when we wanted them to. The closet door that occasionally opened by itself and the curtains that block out the light so well that we slept in until noon the first weekend were also common topics of conversation. As the year went on, we continued to notice unique things about you, like the distinct yin-yang sign on the ceiling and the initials of former students from the 80s and 90s scratched into the edge of the door. Those little details made us grow to love you more and more each day.

You were there for me when I was ever feeling homesick, under the weather, or just plain exhausted. I could go to you if I ever needed a break from the hectic schedule of classes, work, club meetings, group projects, etc. After those extremely long days, it was quite refreshing to just fall onto my bed and do absolutely nothing but breathe and blink for 10 minutes. It may not seem like much, but having you there for me to be able to take a mental, emotional, and physical time-out from a busy day was such a blessing.

You gave my friends and me a regular place to have study sessions, friendly interventions for each other when necessary, and to just hang out and have fun. Going off campus on the weekends was very fun too, but some of my favorite memories with my friends involved movie nights and talking about life, all within your four walls.

When my roommate and I would get into those weird, slaphappy moods, you truly saw it all. The time that a mattress was pulled halfway into the hallway for no reason whatsoever, for example, was one of the funniest things I can remember from this school year. You were there when my roommate and I would stay up until three in the morning talking about a wide variety of topics, from the papers and lab reports we had to write, to our abnormally loud upstairs neighbors, to how big and vast the universe really is. Whether we were up late studying for an exam or laughing way too hard at something that wasn't even that funny, my roommate and I had some great times with you, even when we weren't really doing anything.

You were there for us during our ups and downs, no matter what. You weren't perfect, but you were our home for 8 of the most life-changing months of our lives so far. In just a few months, two new girls will move in and have their own adventures, both big and small. So, unfortunately, this is where we must part ways. It's been a wonderful freshman year, room 439. Thanks for everything!

Love,

Mara