The sun is shining, and it is starting to feel like summer. The flowers are beautiful and the weather isn't too hot yet. It is here -- the last week of classes.
As I think about what I have to do the next three days during my last few classes prior to finals, I want to cringe. I think about the papers, the pre-final exams, the last lectures, the crammed library, and the endless coffee runs. But there is something so much bigger about getting through this semester's finals. After these are done, I'm halfway done.
I couldn't be luckier to absolutely love where I go to school. I get made fun of it all the time, but I don't care. UNC-Chapel Hill is an amazing place, and after May 6, 2016, my time here will be halfway over.
I can't believe it. It has gone by so fast. People always tell you that time starts to go by faster as you get older, but I never thought that older meant age 20. It feels like yesterday I was boarding my Southwest flight from St. Louis Lambert International Airport to Raleigh-Durham International Airport for the first time. Now, I am headed to Italy for summer study abroad after two amazing years at my favorite place. Where did the time go?
I think about the future, and it scares me. I only have two years left. I know you are probably thinking something along the lines of "two years is a long time; a lot can happen in two years ..." But if I think about how fast these past two years have gone, it feels like everything has happened in the blink of an eye. Before I know it, I will be walking across the stage in Kenan Stadium with the other members of UNC's Class of 2018 receiving my diploma.
I won't miss the classes. I won't miss the long nights spent in the library. I won't miss the dorms. I won't miss the papers, exams, and reading assignments. But I will miss college.
I will miss the late-night pizza runs with my teammates. I will miss the beauty of a stroll on Franklin Street on a nice Sunday afternoon. I will miss the random dance parties with roommates. I will miss campus in the fall when the leaves are turning. I will miss the school spirit, especially during basketball season.
College so far has been the time of my life. It has had ups and downs, but so far, I wouldn't change it for the world. I am not the same person I was before leaving St. Louis. I have matured into someone I am proud to be, something I never thought possible, and I owe that to college.
My advice for those (like my younger sister and her friends) who will be starting college this coming August: Take in every moment; before you know it, it will be halfway over.
