Sophomore year of college: also known as the best year of my life.

Leaving college at the end of the year is always hard. You have to say goodbye to the people that you spent pretty much every day with for the past 10 months, and it feels strange and somber to have to leave your second family. Yes, you will likely see them all again really soon but they've become a permanent fixture in your day to day life, and changing that environment is very difficult.

But this year in particular the realization that I will be leaving school in a few short days is even more painful than in the past because this has been, truly, the best year of my life.

Over the past two semesters, I have found new friends who have made such a difference in my life, friends I can honestly say I can't imagine a life without. They have helped me grow into a far more confident and strong person than I was a year ago, and my life is exponentially better with them in it. We have seen each other at out best moments and at our absolute worst. We have sat with each other when we have hit our rock bottom and screamed at the top of our lungs when we were at our peak. We've laughed and cried and thrown up more times than I can count, and these experiences together have bonded us into a true family.

We always joke around that there's "never a dull moment" when we're all together but it feels like that is especially true now that I have to leave them.

Just to reflect: this year has brought with it an unnecessarily large number of trips to Rita's and Coldstone, more hangovers than we should probably tell people about, hospital visits, class-related panic attacks, a historic blizzard, and endless conversations about how much we hate cafeteria food. You've sat with me when I sobbed over the smallest things, threw me a surprise birthday party, listened to me go off about music (when none of you actually could have cared less), and watched me as I picked apart every piece of food I ate, and those little things mean more to me than you could ever know.

Saying goodbye this year is especially bittersweet but I will always have the memories of this academic year, and who knows, maybe the future will bring with it even better years. But for now I'm just going to enjoy these next few days as they come and keep all the moments and people from this past year in my heart.

So to the people who have made this year as fantastic as it was, although it doesn't do any justice to how I feel, let me just say thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.