This afternoon, the first of my two roommates packed up all of her belongings and left us for the summer, and let me just say, the empty corner where she used to sit is giving me seriously sad puppy dog face. But as we close the year with our frantic rush to pass our exams and pack our belongings, I feel it is only fitting to reflect on the last nine months of university living.

College was always part of my plan. I have known I want a college education since I was a kid. However, I never knew just how hard it would be to be away from home and find the personal motivation to push me through endless lectures and homework assignments. Truthfully, I didn't find it on my own and that is why I want to use this article to thank those who ACTUALLY got me through the year: my roommates (both those who really live in my room, and those who just never leave).

You guys made my success, both in school and in every other aspect of my personal life, attainable. You endured all of my annoying late night cry sessions and existential crises. You heard every stupid thought I had, every slip of the tongue I experienced, and every disgusting face I have made. So thank you.

Thank you for all the late night adventures. Thank you for the trips to the grocery store (Sorry I have no car). Thank you for every Sonic 50 cent corndog day and hard week recap at Perkins. Thank you for all the McDonald's nug runs at all times of the day, and the Taco Bell encounters after parties that resulted in more sauce packets than anyone needs in their dorm room.

And speaking of dorm rooms, ours was lit, despite it being the size of a shoebox, hence the name we gave it: The Box. The fact that we managed to fit anywhere from 1-8 people in our overwhelmingly small space never ceased to amaze me, along with all of our belongings and fold out chairs. The movie nights and afternoon episodes of The Office and Friends that we shared in our room will not soon be forgotten. Neither will all of our ridiculous door decorations and the unnecessary number of canvases on our walls.

Thank you for being my best friends, my parents, my study buddies, my meme outlets, and some of my biggest supporters throughout these last nine months. You don't know how comforting it is to always walk into a room of smiling faces after a crappy day of work or a long day of lectures. You never judged my super weird snapchats, all of the stupid things that come out of my mouth, or the moments where I really just wanted some time to myself. It also helped to know that you would tell me to eat, sleep, do my homework, or anything else I might need to do, just like the mom that every college student needs sometimes. Also, shoutout to my roommate who has one of everything I could possibly need like tape, Tylenol, coffee, command hooks etc. You saved my unprepared butt too many times to count.

So to conclude, you gorgeous people kept me from drowning. You provided me all of the things I needed to succeed in college, whether that be a shoulder to cry on, cold medicine, or a really good laugh at Perkins at 2am. The bottom line is, I couldn't think of my time in college without thinking of all of you wonderful humans and I could write about you for days. You are my family away from my family, my home away from home, and for that I am eternally grateful. H.A.K.A.S. bros.