Dear Friend Who Is Transferring Schools,

I want you to know that even though you have decided to go to a new college, I am not mad at you. There is not much time remaining in the rest of the semester and before summer rolls around, I want to take this time to look back at all you have done for me.

People decide to transfer schools for multiple reasons and I admire your reasoning. You are making an adult decision to try something new because you know this is the right thing for you, even if our particular college was not. We may be in different towns next fall, but I want to thank you for the past two years and the memories we made.

Thanks for being there the first time I “hit the town" as a college student. Despite having an eight am the next morning, I was determined to experience the culture shock of going to a bar underage, so of course we documented the historic night via social media because we were still trying to convince our high school friends that our college town was superior to theirs.

Thank you for not punching me in the face after I decided to go Greek and got a big head. I needed someone to bring me back down to Earth.

Thank you for being there when I had to drop that one math class and reminding me that failure was a natural part of life. Your words prepared me for the inevitable conversation with my parents.

Thank you for being always down to eat breakfast for dinner at Denny's on nights I avoided homework and did not feel like going out.

Thank you for being polite to my first semester friends, even though you did not like them, and never saying, “I told you so," when they turned out to be temporary.

Thank you for picking me up that one morning I lost my car keys and helping me search an entire parking lot before I realized they were in my backpack.

Thank you for taking the first bite of the corn dogs we ordered from that sketchy food truck outside of the bars at two in the morning. You risked food poisoning—which you got the next morning—and I respect your bravery.

Most importantly, thank you for sticking with me after high school and experiencing the culture shock that is freshman year. You are my last tie to my old life and now that you are leaving, I do not know what I am going to do when I get homesick. Friends come and go, and for a while you were there a little bit longer than the rest. I know I may sound selfish when I say it, but I do not want you to go. Though your time here has been cut short, know that I enjoyed watching you grow these past two years and I respect your wanting to start over. Just know that I plan to visit you next semester at your new school so reserve a spot in your new crib for my sleeping bag because when I do come, we will hit the new town just like we conquered this one.

See you soon,

Dom