I have less than a year left before I graduate and say goodbye to my undergraduate career at Otterbein University, a small liberal arts college in suburban Ohio. About a year ago I decided that I would graduate a semester early, which has me graduating December of this year. I decided this mainly because it'll save a good chunk of money, but I'm also the type of person that wants to get out of school as soon as possible and start my "life."

In high school I thought a great deal about graduating early and decided in the end that I would graduate along side the people I grew up with. College is a little different. Even though I'm graduating in December I'm still able to be a part of the graduation ceremony in May of 2018 and walk with the many people I've come to adore at Otterbein. So my reasoning for sticking around high school for as long as I did, didn't make a difference when I made my decision to leave Otterbein a little early.

As I feel my graduation date slowly approaching, I can't help but reflect on the time I've had at Otterbein. It has given me more opportunities than I could have ever dreamed of and it has given me relationships with some of the best people I've ever known.

When I first moved in as a freshmen, I came in knowing no one. I had trouble forming a relationship with my roommate. I ate only in my room, because I had no one to eat with. I went to class during the week and traveled the hour home almost every weekend. My start at Otterbein was a bit rocky, but then I met my now roommates.

My now roommate Katie was in about all of my classes. We're those people that show up 15 minutes early to class and after a few weeks of staring at each other in awkward silence, we started making small talk. Eventually, we made plans to eat together and hangout on occasion.

I met Sadie because we both worked the same work study shift in the Psychology Department. We made plans to hangout during Homecoming Weekend. We met up for the parade and we spent the majority of the day together.

Fast-forward to 2 years later and we all live together and have been since finals week of our freshman fall semester. We're all Psychology majors and spend the majority of our time together. In fact, we spend so much time together that people get confused when we're not with each other. They've become my best friends.

Aside from Sadie and Katie, we have a small little family at Otterbein that includes Jessica, Ty, and Andrea. We celebrate Christmas together and lean on one another when needed. I wouldn't trade my college family for anything.

Other than giving me some amazing friends, Otterbein has given me the blessing of forming amazing relationships with the faculty and staff in the Psychology Department. I've been a student worker in the office on and off since my freshman year and that alone has given me plenty of time to get to know everyone in the office (the office is actually a cute little house and it's like my second home).

The person I've come to know the most is our Administrative Assistant, Kelly. She's like my mom at school. She looks out for me and I can talk to her about anything. We get to be a little weird together and she lets me hang around the house as much as I want. And she gets frustrated with me because I prefer to stand than sit and it makes her nervous (I told you, she's my second mom).

I've also been able to form relationships with my professors. They're very supportive of me and they know me so well they can sense when I'm not feeling too great (physically and/or mentally). I babysit for them, traveled halfway across the world with them, was able to be a Teaching Assistant for them, went to dinner with them, and I've been to their homes. My close relationships with my professors are one of my favorite things about going to a small school.

Otterbein has also given me amazing opportunities. I was the girl in high school that wasn't very involved. I was in Student Council my junior and senior year, but that was the extent of my extracurriculars. College helped me blossom into the active student that I am today.

I'm currently the President of a student organization called Resident Student Association (RSA for short) and it's one of the best things that's ever happened to me. RSA is a tiny dysfunctional family and I've had the pleasure of seeing it grow over the last 2 years. RSA has also let me form a relationship with our adviser, Laura. She's like a big sister. We have a lot of similarities and I know I can count on her.

During my time at Otterbein I've also been able to travel to Italy for 2 weeks with a class which is easily one of the best experiences I've had. I'm a part of our newer Student Government, which is changing Otterbein and hopefully for the better. I was able to land an internship because of my resume that's been revised about 100 times thanks to my professors and the Center for Career and Professional Development.

Thinking about my time at Otterbein has filled me with joy and I will miss it terribly. It's weird to think I only have about a year left. On the bright side, I'm sure I'll be able to make many more precious memories while I still can call this wonderful place one of my homes.