Freshman year of college was definitely one of the most stressful, yet rewarding times of my life. Aside from getting As and attempting to evade being malnourished, it is very important that one maintains a well-balanced social life for networking and for fun. A big part of the concept of having a social life as we get older is the idea of having an intimate relationship with someone. When I first arrived here, I honestly was not looking for any type of intimate relationship for I simply wanted to focus on studying. However, one day in the second semester, I found myself sitting across from a beautiful girl in a cafe talking about life, and at that moment all I could think of was, "Oh no, it's happening." After that date, we met up a few times and I tried my hardest to deny that I had feelings for her, but luckily for me, my denial never got to me. Fast forward a few months and here we are, spending every day together studying and binge watching Netflix. So, ladies and gentlemen (and especially you, baby), this is an open letter to my wonderful girlfriend:

Dear Alexis,

This past semester has been absolutely stellar to say the least, and I have learned so much just by being with you. When I first met you, I wasn't sure what to think; I was slightly overweight, stressed out, and overcoming the rough winter that plagued New Paltz. I honestly did not expect this to turn into anything due to the fact that I was almost positive that no one was capable of falling for me... I mean look at me. Contrary to prior belief, it turned out that you were actually infatuated with me, and of course I questioned it, but why ruin something that could be special? After a few weeks of hanging out, it was clear to me that a relationship would be in the near future. Although I wanted to wait, let's be real...you pretty much told me to ask you out and I'm glad I did. You taught me a lot since that day, even simple things like you are right 10 times out of 10, hot sauce is not seasoning, and Fruit Loops can be eaten any time of the day. All joking aside, you have taught me to love myself above all else. As I said before, when I met you I was pretty out of shape; however, since then I have lost a lot of weight and look better than ever expected.

There is very little that I can do to truly show you how grateful I am for all that you have done;
however, this fact will not stop me from trying every day. Being apart from you this summer will definitely be a task, but I know it will make us stronger. We have the trust to last for three months. I promise that we will knock off some tasks on our summer bucket list and that we can still watch Netflix until one of us falls asleep, but until then, let's enjoy these last few days of our 8 a.m. Dunkin' runs, our arguments over virtually everything, and our movie theater date this Wednesday. I can't wait until August comes so I can see you all the time again.

Your bub,

Travis