To the class of 2018,

It's finally our time! It's our eighth and final semester on campus. We've had seven midterms weeks, seven finals weeks, and four (not long enough) spring breaks. The time has flown by so fast... I honestly feel like I've blinked and it's all just passed me by, and I'm sure you feel the same.

It feels like just yesterday I was moving into my freshman dorm, telling my parents it was okay for them to leave, that I was ready for this next chapter in my life. Four short years later I can't believe all of the memories I've made and how bittersweet this last semester is going to be.

College is a time for firsts for many people. The first time living somewhere other than their childhood room, the first time going out to parties, and the first time they feel "free" to be themselves and experience life on their own terms.

Do you remember that feeling... the first time you stepped on campus and felt like you were on top of the world? Do you remember feeling like the world was at your fingertips? I'm sure if you do, you also remember being knocked off of your pedestal pretty fast.

Do you remember your first college lecture? Or your first mandatory chemistry lab that you would've rather avoided if possible? I definitely remember reading the first syllabus and thinking "holy shit high school definitely didn't prepare me for this." However, I think it's safe to say we all managed to make it through freshman year unscathed... I mean, we did all make it to our last semester after all!

We all know classes and exams are only part of the college experience. Plus, grades and GPA's don't matter once you graduate anyway. I will never forget the friends I made, the late nights out, and even later nights at McDonald's or Cook Out over the past four years.

I will always remember the venting sessions when times were tough, spontaneous trips to the tattoo shop, and the girl's nights in when we didn't feel like dressing up to go downtown. There are so many memories that I hold near and dear to my heart, and I hope that you will walk away from college feeling the same way.

I hope that your last semester in college isn't spent worrying about your final GPA and whether you'll end up Cum Laude or Summa Cum Laude. Your last semester should be much more than that.

Obviously, throwing our GPA's down the toilet during our last semester isn't the goal, but there's no reason to obsess about it at this point... we can't really make up for seven semesters during our final one, so we might as well just enjoy the time we have left! I hope our final semester is filled with all of the joy we've experienced during the last four years. I hope you have a great spring semester, because I know I'm going to!

In the wise words of my idol Elle Woods: