As the semester comes to a close, I am left thinking about everything that has happened over the last year. It’s the end of my sophomore year, so I’m really thinking about the past two years and the next two years. It’s crazy to think about how quickly my freshman and sophomore years went by, but it’s even crazier to think of how quickly the next two will go by.

In the last two years, I’ve gone through a lot. My family moved away from the town I grew up in. I came to college, and considered dropping out of college. I have gained friends I never thought I’d have, and I lost friends that I thought would be in my life forever. I branched out and am involved in things I never thought I would have the courage to do.

In the next two years, I have so much more to do. Honestly, it’s not even a full two years because I plan on graduating in December of 2019. I am hoping that I will continue to grow as a person in the next 19 months. I am hoping to grow as a writer so I can have a solid career. I am hoping to get involved with as much as I can. And most of all - I am hoping that I am happy.

In the next six or seven months alone, I have so much planned. I am studying in Spain for part of the summer, and I can’t wait. I’m applying to be an editor for Marshall’s newspaper. I actually have not decided if I will be staying at my current job at Starbucks. I’m not even sure where I’m living next semester.

Then I think about what comes after next semester. I still have so many classes I’m required to take. The journalism school is very small, so a lot of classes are only offered once, which can be very inconvenient for me. I need an internship, and I’m actually really looking forward to it. I want to get involved with more on campus, I just have to decide what I would be good at and would love.

I remember showing up and planning so many things and thinking it would be easy. Not necessarily everything being easy, but more so everything flowing how I planned it to. I also remember making five different schedules when registering for classes for the first time and crying because none of them worked. I remember crying when I failed a test I studied all night for. I remember crying recently when I was trying to make a commercial for a class because the computer shut down and I lost almost everything. I remember crying a lot when I think about it.

I also remember meeting my favorite professors for the first time and knowing I would love them. I remember the first time I was published in the paper. I remember my first time going to Cru, my first day at work, and just recently when I was told I’m in the alternate pool to be a resident advisor or academic mentor. I remember meeting all of the significant people in my life. I remember all of the important things.

I am looking forward to everything that Huntington and Marshall has to offer to me in the next couple years. Even though I know I am going to be stressed, I am so excited. There is so much left to do, with so little time. When I think about it, two years seems like a long time. When I think about it more, I realize how quickly it has gone by.

I know that when I’m ready to walk across the stage, it will feel like I just blinked. Four years is a long time, but it definitely does not feel like it when I am in the moment. I am hoping to graduate with more good memories than I can count. I’m keeping my eyes wide open because I don’t want to miss a thing.