It is supposed to be the greatest four years of your life--and for me it was--but as the grandfather clock on my senior year of college continues to wind down, I find myself growing anxious to wear the cap and gown to graduate. Rather than picturing a night at the bars, I find myself imagining a life in a new city, surrounded by new people and having new adventures. I catch myself imagining what could be, but why do I feel so guilty?

With college there is this stigma that the four years you spend there will be the best of your life, but honestly, I hope that’s not true. College is supposed to be this time of learning, growing and shaping you into being a mature adult that has a better sense of who they are than before they entered. It decides who is ready for the mature, real world. I see college as a test-run for adulthood. A time where you can make too many mistakes and can learn from them to become the better person that you eventually want to be. Reflecting on freshman year alone, I pray that that year is not including in these “best four years” because let’s be honest, it was a rough one for everyone.

Looking back, my best times spent in college were the times in which I had found myself and therefore, was myself. They were when I knew that I was at my best and that’s because I had the time to make mistakes and surround myself with people who brought the best out of me. Whether it was living with my best friends my senior year, being on my sorority’s executive board, having a blast through my senior capstone or falling in love with someone who challenges me to be a little better every day, I am so thankful for all of the hard times and good times that college brought me.

Don’t get me wrong, college was an amazing experience. I have loved the crazy Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. I have loved a lot of the classes that I have taken and the professors who have mentored me along the way. I have loved the people that I have surrounded myself with, as they will now always be in my life. I believe the reason that I am ready to move on is because these experiences have helped me reach my limit of growth at college. The reason that I am ready to graduate isn’t that I didn’t love my time here; it is that I thoroughly enjoyed these four years of experiences and am now looking into the next chapter, the next challenge, and the next four years of experiences.

I don’t believe that it is a bad thing to be ready to move on nor do I believe those who are ready should feel guilty about it. It’s a natural feeling to be ready and to be looking forward to what’s next. The last thing we want is to feel stuck and to feel as though we aren’t learning or growing anymore, yet we need to be thankful for the amazing four years that college gave us. Without these four years, we would not be the people that we are today. We could not confront the eminent adulthood that lies ahead with bravery and fearlessness. The amount of growth that has occurred from our freshman year to our senior year blows my mind, and I am grateful that through the ups and downs and wins and losses I found myself along the way.

Graduating college is bittersweet. We are sad to go, yet excited for what lies ahead. We don’t need to feel guilty about being ready to move on. It’s natural. What’s key, however, is that we be grateful for what college has given us and we don’t forget about all that we have learned along the way. We must take these four years with us into the real world.

We are ready. We can do this.

Let’s go.