To My Freshman Dorm Room,

I think a quick thank you is in order. You have shaped me as a person. Which, I would have never thought that a room would be capable of doing. Throughout the year you became my home. Now, after moving out, I keep referring to you and Bowling Green as ‘home’ even when I am back home in Pittsburgh.

Turning the key in the lock of your door was one of the most exciting and scary things that I have ever done. Reality had hit at that point. My wide-eyed self-had no idea what you’d mean to me at the end.

I threw what I thought my life was right on your floor the second we met. Unpacked box after box, loading and shoving things in your dressers and closets. I was determined to make my life fit between your walls. After I unloaded on you, I ran out the door, slamming it, with the most excitement; just in hopes to start my adventure and make memories.

Threw out time, those adventures and memories started to happen within your walls. Unknowingly, you became the structure of my freshman experience and a part of that life I previously tried to squeeze between your walls.

Looking back, I wish that your walls could talk. I am certain that they would say a lot. You’ve observed a great deal through the last nine months. More than I would have ever imagined.

You witnessed my birthday, which was the first birthday I had experienced without my family. Most people would think that it would be an exciting day, but you saw me cry for the first time. Showing you my vulnerability was the best thing I could have done. Right in that moment, you became my home and my stability.

Throughout the year, you have been one of the constants in my life. We both watched people pass in and out of your door. You saw a roommate move out and a new one move in. During that time, you were the only one there; you were my get-away. I knew that you were my safe place. I soon realized that if things went wrong in a matter of a moment, I knew that I could come crawling to you and you’d take me in with open arms. I was at home when I cried or laughed within those walls; I really could be my true self.

I will have a lifetime of memories that took place between your walls. Coming into my freshman year, I never imaged that the small 10-by-15 foot room that I slept in would become one of the hardest goodbyes. So thank you for making it such a hard goodbye. Thank you for being my home away from home. I hope that you bring the same things out in me with the next lady that lives between those walls.