It's a scary feeling. It's scary to think that, when I return to campus in the fall, I only have four semesters left on campus until I have to leave my safe haven and enter the "real world." This real world has been an afterthought up until now; a mysterious, far-fetched reality I didn't want to think about, but now that time has come to an end. Now, I have to think about getting a job, making a salary, where I want to work after college and, probably the one I have the hardest time dealing with, saying goodbye to the friendships I have made over the past two years. At least, for a little bit.

Right now, my reality is that I say goodbye to most of my friends for a few weeks over the summer, just to start the year over next August. That isn't going to be my reality forever, and that fact is daunting in and of itself. The more I think about it, the more I can't imagine my life without seeing the people who make my days worthwhile. When it comes the time to say goodbye for an extended amount of time, I'm not sure how I'm going to react. What I do know is that being halfway done with college means that I have made amazing friends and that we have amazing stories to tell our kids when we're older, and they're old enough to hear them.

Even though it's terrifying to think that life is moving way too fast, being halfway done with college also comes with its perks. It means that I know most of the ins-and-outs of campus, which bars are easier to go to, which restaurants have the best happy hour and which classes I can skip once every two weeks. Next semester, I'll officially be an upperclassmen, which means that I'm considered to be wiser and more experienced in all things "college." I definitely still have a lot to learn, like how to pay my taxes and get the best parking spot on campus, but I think it's fair to say I have a decent understanding of the basic do's and don't's of campus.

College is only four years in the long run. Four years might seem like a long time, but the past two have flown by and I would much rather prefer the next two slow down, even just a little. The amount of laughs, tears, all-nighters, tests, papers and stories packed into these four years could fill a dining hall, which is why I'm learning to treasure them as they happen. Being halfway done means that only half of these memories have happened, which makes me excited for what's to come. I can't predict the future, but I have a pretty good feeling that the memories are going to be full of questionable decisions and long nights.

All of the emotions that encompass ending sophomore year can be described by one word: bittersweet. Bitter that I can't return to move-in day freshman year, but sweet that I don't have all of the stresses freshman have to deal with. No matter how the next two years unfold, I know that living in the present is more important now than ever, and that the real world might not be such a scary place, after all.