This day signifies the moment in time when these friends stop being students and start being actual, real, functioning members of society. It is quite terrifying for me, so I cannot even imagine how scared some of them must be. It is worrisome to think about them out in the big bad world, dealing with real people problems and having to find jobs that will allow them to make an income to support themselves. Whether they are staying close by, traveling the world, or have no idea where their next step might take them, the fact is they will no longer be living that simple seven-minute walk away from me on campus.

One of the difficult parts of making best friendships with people of different ages is that you move on with your lives at various times. You reach major milestones at separate moments, and you will always support one another, but this reality can be tough. This age difference may make it hard to stay in touch, hard to relate to everything that might be going on in their new life, and overall be a really huge adjustment for everyone involved.

So, to my senior friends who are leaving me over the next few weeks, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being a role model to me and my like-aged friends. Thank you for showing me that it's okay to not fully have it together within the next two years and that everything is going to work out just fine. Thank you for acting as big sisters and best friends to me. I cannot wait to see where the road after graduation takes you, and I promise I will try my absolute hardest to keep in touch, even if it means working with time-zone differences or squeezing in phone calls during your future lunch breaks.

Now, I have one request from you. Please do not forget about me or the moments that we have been so lucky to have together. Although sometimes, it feels unfair that we had such a short overlapping time period at school, I could not feel luckier to have had you in my college experience. No matter when our friendship started, I need you to promise me that graduation day will not be the end of this inseparable bond that we have so quickly created. As you leave me behind, I can promise that I will always have an open spot in my bed for you to cuddle and sleep in when you come back to visit.

To all of my senior friends: I will miss you more than I can put into words. No matter what our relationship may be, thank you for being either my supportive sorority sister, my fellow philanthropic teammate, my self-appointed twin or the friend I have become inseparable from. Whatever the twist of fate was that brought us together, I will be forever grateful for its occurrence. I love you endlessly and want to wish you good luck out there after graduation day arrives. There is not a single doubt in my mind that you will do incredible things in this world.