I remember like it was just yesterday; driving up to a new school with my mom and dad where I knew not one person. My car was filled with boxes packed with all of my belongings that once had a very special spot in my childhood home, and now is being relocated to a completely different environment, let alone state.
I was scared I wasn't going to make friends, nervous about starting new classes, and upset I had to leave my family, high school friends and high school boyfriend. I was beyond excited for college, but had no idea what I was getting myself into when I first opened the door to my dorm the beginning of freshman year.
Three years have gone by, and I am now about to end the last week of classes of my junior year of college. In one week, I will officially be a senior in college...that's pretty scary. That once 18-year-old girl scared out of her mind has finally made a home out of her college, and is now thinking it's going to be very difficult to say goodbye once May 2020 rolls around.
I can't even begin to think of how much time has passed, and how much I have experienced over these past three years. I always knew that college was going to be an incredible opportunity to try new things and meet different people, I just didn't know how amazing it would actually turn out.
These past three years have taught me more about myself than ever before. I've learned to be a leader, a friend, a roommate, a scholar, a coffee addict. I've learned that long distance is hard and maybe I should start putting in smaller loads in the washing machine. I learned that you won't always be friends with everyone in your sorority, and that I probably should learn how to cook adult meals by the time I graduate. I've learned the hard way that you should always eat before a night of drinking, and maybe spending every night at the gym isn't worth it when you have a big exam the next day.
The biggest lesson that I learned these three years is to break out of my comfort zone. Junior year pushed me to limits that I never knew I could reach and it would not have happened if I did not break out of my comfort zone earlier on into the year.
College has been a whirlwind, but if you attend West Chester University like I do, as a freshman you don't know what you are in for until it is a summer day in August on a Saturday where people are blasting music on their porch and day drinking at the local rooftop bar. This could be incredibly scary your first time around, but now that we are juniors just about ready to start our senior year, its something we are most definitely holding onto as long as we can and looking forward to all year long.
As I am approaching my senior year, I already know I'm going to miss it all. The way the castle building looks when flowers are blooming around it, the way Jakes Bar is acceptable to go to on a Friday afternoon with a slice of Riggtown pizza to accompany your $1 beer, and seeing my best friends at least once a day every day. I'll miss more than anything snow days and the social acceptance of drinking all day on a Tuesday afternoon, movie nights with my roomies, getting a good grade on that assignment I worked so beyond hard on, and the feeling of coming home after a month and seeing my puppies for the first time.
Senior year- the year of multiple endings, but so many beginnings. As your senior year approaches, don't forget to live in every moment with the people that made college home for you. Take as many pictures as possible, say yes to going out with your good friends when all you want to do is sleep in your bed, and study hard to make the four years of classes worth it. "College is the best four years of your life," they all say, and honestly, that might just be true.
