As summer comes to a dwindling end and school starts back up, everyone must leave their friends behind. But for some people, like myself, it isn't all that easy. When everyone graduates high school, we are eager for the new beginnings of college. We are wondering who our new friends will be and what classes will be like. With students who attend community college, the college life isn't fully grasped. It is difficult to make friends because no one is thrown into a building and told that they have to spend the next nine months living in close living quarters. Going into community college, I expected to know absolutely no one and stay to myself. Surprisingly, I was seriously mistaken. I joined the volleyball team and began to create friends who I now know I cannot live without. So I have a few things I would like to say to the fellow students of my beloved parking lot school.

First off, thank you for deciding that community college was the best for you. Without your smarts, I wouldn't have been able to meet your beautiful faces. We decided that we should put off the binge drinking every day to stay living at home and save an ungodly amount of money. Since we were able to still live with our parents and save money, we were able to take many trips to Chicago, Dubuque, and countless trips to the mall.

Secondly, thank you for the many nights we spent together. Yes, we weren't always going to bars illegally every night like the rest of our generation, we managed to make drive-in theaters a little bit more fun. We would take movie nights to the next level and still managed to have the best years of our lives while still living at home and going to college.

Next thank you for listening to me complain while I learned to find myself. We were all experiencing new things, and it was scary. There were times where I didn't think that I could continue going through school anymore because I didn't think I could do it. But, with your utmost support and countless times of telling me I could do it, I managed to graduate and continue my education at a University.

Lastly, thank you for already accepting to be my bridesmaids. I may be far from getting married, maybe because I'm still single, but I already know you will be my bridesmaids. You are the girls that I call when I miss home, have exciting news, or just want to rant about life to. You were my family when I wasn't home. You were the extra boost that I needed to have when I struggled with myself. And you were the main reason that I always had a smile on my face.

I honestly have no idea where I would be today without you. I would be struggling on adjusting to school because we are all in the same boat. We are all dealing with finding new friends and places to be ourselves. I always know that I can call you to see how you are doing and how you ended up loving where you are now at. Thankfully we have FaceTime where I can feel like I am always with you.

The last thing that I want to say to you is this: I am beyond proud of you and all of your accomplishments. I know you will do great things out there and always know that your community college friends are there to support you no matter what. Because of you, I have found the person I want to be.