When we all set off on our journey to freshman year, we have a mixed set of emotions.
We're scared – because it's the first time we've ever been on our own.
We're excited – because we can't wait to be on our own.
We're nervous – because we have to start over making friends on our own.
We're finally becoming independent!

Then comes our sophomore year, and we love life.

A year spent in the perfect sorority, and your friend groups are set. Most of our time was spent attending themed parties, socials, and sisterhoods, and our GPAs are peaking.

Junior year comes in strong. We're all excited to reunite after the longest summer of our lives being away from each other. We took a few classes (mostly preparing for the GPA peak that just happened), worked a ton, and snapchatted an unreal amount. Our grades waver a bit, we turn 21, and we experience life "on the other side" of adulthood.

Now we've just spent all of our summers abroad or at our dream internships, and here we are returning for that final homestretch we regretfully call senior year.

While I can't exactly sum up what senior year really is as I am just starting into mine, I can only put into words what I imagine for the road ahead.

I imagine that during my senior year my friendships will grow closer.
I imagine that the memories we all make will be some of the craziest ones yet.
I picture classic shenanigans and traditions coming to life one last time like the Curtiss to Beardshear run and jumping into Lake Laverne.

We may be spending the year job-hunting for an international experience, or trying to find a career as close to Ames as possible so we never have to feel like we're growing up.

Or maybe we're deciding to start planning a future with the person you've been sharing your college experience with (whether it be a significant other or just your best friend/cat).

The point is, we may not know what comes next, but that's the beauty of the final year.

Not to say that graduating early is a terrible thing – because it's not. It's great that you knew what you wanted out of life before the majority of us did and found a way to get there! While I was faced with the opportunity to graduate in three short years, I chose not to. I assume there is a reason for the 4-year plan to not be called the 3-year plan. Perhaps it is because during that fourth year we are doing more than just wrapping up those final classes we put off on as long as possible. Maybe, just maybe, there was a little more reasoning behind it.

Senior year is something I believe everyone needs. It's our last chance to get that college lifestyle out of our systems. We begin learning what it really means to be an adult. We can live on our own, meet a deadline, cook, clean, and maintain relationships all at the same time while we're also working and taking classes – and we find a way to do it all while still having fun on the weekends. Sounds a lot more impressive when you write it out, huh?

Most of us seniors are returning from summer internships and jobs that helped us out too. And while maybe I don't know where I'll be working when I graduate in May, or I don't know what state I'll be living in, or who I'll be with, I do have a much better idea than I did as a freshman, and I know what steps to take to get myself there. I'd say that's the whole point of coming here for those four-plus years. We're given a chance to do some last minute touch-ups on our maturity level, and learn a lot more about ourselves than we might have in three years (plus, it's a little extra fun time too). And even though I'm not ready to leave behind my friends and all the fun, I am prepared to take the next step.

So a thank you, in advance, to my senior year. Bring it on.