Dear junior year,

No, not a junior in high school despite how I look like a fourteen-year-old, but a college junior. A campus upperclassman. A big shot, if you will.

As a freshman I was scared. It was a big new campus full of strangers and some new responsibilities of adulthood I was not ready for. I went to my classes like a big girl, figured out my way around campus, made friends, and was reserved.

As a sophomore, I broke out a bit more. I knew where everything was around campus like an OG. I joined more clubs, took more challenging classes to push myself, even got my own apartment. Even with all of this and a full year under my belt, I still didn't feel like I totally had this whole 'college' thing down.

Going into my junior year I am faced with joy, sadness, and a bit of fear.

I'm excited to go back to the greatest college ever and see all my friends. I'm excited now because I've met so many amazing people, and have had so many opportunities that I didn't have when I was an underclassman. Being a junior doesn't seem like a big deal to some people, but to me, being able to say I've completed two years of college and am more than ready for a third is incredible.

I'm sad because my time is almost up. I'm halfway done with my college experience. Two years from now I will have to say goodbye to so many incredible people I have met. I won't get to cheer on my team at the football games every Friday, or sled down frat row when there is a giant snow storm. I will be an alumni, which is crazy and exciting all at once.

I'm fearful I'm not fully appreciating being a college junior, and that I'll look back after I graduate and wish for these days back. While that may seem like I am being overdramatic since I am only a junior, it's still a thought that creeps into my mind.

So after all of that, my message to my junior year is simple. Dear junior year, please be magical. Make me go that extra mile to get what I want, challenge me. Let me meet new friends who encourage me and lift me up when I am down.

Dear junior year, don't fly by. Let this year last and be one for the history books. Be as exciting, hectic, and memorable as you want. This only happens once.

Sincerely, a college kid.