The first time I came onto the Washington State University Pullman campus, I was awestruck. From the brick buildings standing tall amidst the rolling hills of the Palouse, to the busses covered in Cougar decals and the signs hanging all around Pullman sprouting WSU pride, I knew WSU was the community for me. I could not wait to start the next four years of my life — the best four years according to every movie I had ever watched.

Three years later, I am standing back in the promised land for the first time after a not-long-enough summer. My last first time.

It is my senior year, and I am not ready to be done at WSU.

Sure, not stressing over exams and group projects will be nice once I get a job in the "real world," but the magic of this place truly is a temporary experience. WSU is such an incredible campus, unlike any other in the world, and it is terrifying to think that this is the last fall semester I will get to experience. Only one academic year stands between me and my real future.

I am not ready.

Aligning with the popular warnings of a college student's future, I have changed my major. Three times. I have made friends. I have stormed the field after an amazing football game. I have cursed every hill on campus, and believe me, there are a lot. I have done just about everything there is to do here, save for walking across that stage at commencement, but I'll leave that for May.

While I cannot wait to see where the next chunk of time takes me, I am not ready to be done with this place. It has shaped and changed me in more ways than I can count. Though not all of my time here has been the greatest, and I have faced more ups and downs than I care to count, my overall WSU experience has been nothing short of extraordinary.

My time is winding down to an end, as is everyone else's.

Let's make these moments last, and, as always, go Cougs!