It's been a year. Wow. One long, drawn out year. Somehow, though, it still felt like a short year. Through the heart break, confusing relationships, and the experiencing of many new things, I never really thought I would make it here.

I've learned how to deal with difficult people and those who simply don't like me. Freshman year taught me that those that are difficult are mysteries to unfold, and those who don't like me are not worth my time.

Freshman year also taught me how to deal with people who do like you. They are the ones who are worth every second you spend on them. They are the ones who will bring you blueberry lemonade and microwave mac and cheese when you're sick with bronchitis the week of midterms. They are the ones you can sing for hours with on spontaneous road trips to Nashville, Tennessee. They are the ones you eat warm cookies with at three in the morning. Those are the friends you want to keep around. They are the ones you are going to make memories with and when you think back to your college experience, they are the fantastic people you're going to think of.

The real challenge is figuring out which friends are worth it.

Freshman year also taught me what my passions are. It taught me that sometimes the odds are not in your favor. It taught me that independence is pricey; sometimes all you want to do is be at home, in a blanket, and with your cat snuggled up next to you.

Freshman year was hard and difficult and one of the most challenging obstacles I've ever faced. The funny thing about obstacles is that those journeys in the end yield the highest rewards. It tastes so much sweeter now that it's over, and it made it so bittersweet to see the trees of my college fade away as I went to the airport.

The funniest attribute of freshman year is that I didn't want to leave it. With every fiber and ounce of my being, I did not want to not be away from college for three months. There were so many adventures to be had- many more places left to go and so many more songs to be sung on the way there. 500 words is not enough to say how much my first year of college taught me how to function as a human being.

Above all, I am thankful for what freshman year has given me. It's given me a best friend, people I can rely on, and adventures I will hold to my memory forever.

So, cheers to freshman year. It was a good one. One with change, new friends, new people, new obstacles, new places, new foods, and new places to reach nirvana.

Thanks to everyone who made it the way it was. It was beautiful while it lasted.

Peace.