With the first semester of my college experience coming to a close, I find myself and a lot of my fellow classmates doing a lot of reflecting.

This semester has probably been the best five months of my life. I've learned so much and become so much more independent in such a short amount of time.

I'm not going to lie, in the first few weeks of college, I experienced more self doubt than I ever had in my whole life. I questioned if I had chosen the right school, dorm, etc. When you look around yourself during that time, it seems like everyone had already found their best friends. (Little did I know, I had already found mine as well, I just didn’t know them that well yet).

I am an independent person, but I’m still super close to my family; so, going away to college was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I had to learn to be self-sufficient while staying on top of school, making friends, and all of the other crazy things college throws at you.

But once I settled in after those few weeks, I truly got to see college for what it was- the most amazing thing ever. I became closer with the friends I already had, and joined a sorority and gained even more friends.

I’ll always be so thankful for my college, and all of the people that surround me there, because of that. It forced me to get out of my comfort zone- live away from my family, my friends, and everything I’ve ever known. Ole Miss has shaped me into the person that I am today.

I think that I, and lots of other freshmen, had a hard time saying goodbye to our college and all of our friends there when we left for winter break. Something about the experiences you have in college sometimes hold a bigger place in your heart.

But that’s also how you know you chose the right school and the right friends- when it’s hard to say bye to them, even though you know you’ll see them in one month!

I can't wait to see what the next seven semesters hold. If this is how the rest of college is going to be, then hats off to the best 4 years of my life I've experienced yet!