As I sit here, mentally preparing myself before school starts next week, I think about the mixed emotions I have towards it. I will be starting college this year as a senior, a year that has always seemed so far away, has was too quickly crept up on me.

I remember freshman move-in day like it was yesterday. Being so nervous to meet my roommate, make friends and (of course) start college level classes. Now, instead of being nervous for all of that, I'm only nervous that this year will fly by, but yet also excited to start my life in the real world. How does that even work?

College has truly held some of the best days of my life so far, and has blessed me with some of the greatest people I know. Yet, I'm ready to get out there and start a career, travel the world, become an adult and be able to finally own my own pets.

My emotions are split between wanting to forever stay in college and being ready to leave and start the real world.

I feel like this is a normal occurrence. At least, I felt these exact same emotions for high school, and yet little did I know how many great experiences I would have in college. So, now I guess I can hope that happens when I graduate college.

But having everyone tell me to stay in college as long as possible does not help these feelings. Getting a job working most of my life doesn't help these feelings either. Having to pay bills like an adult, as you can imagine, doesn't help either.

I feel that no matter what portion of my senior year I'm in, I will always be excited and scared. I guess that's okay, and it's normal.

As humans, we are always scared for the unknown. We always question what will come next in life, and the truth is, we will never know. Life always does have a funny way of working out, and I can just trust that my life will work out after college, no matter what. But, this still doesn't help the sadness I feel towards leaving my home away from home.

I want to thank my parents for always supporting me throughout college. Thank you for always letting me come home on weekends, do laundry for free, listen to me complain about school work and pretty much everything else. I wouldn't have been able to make it through college without your constant love and support.

Thank you to all the wonderful professors I have had, that have taught me what seems like everything. Anywhere from life lessons to helping me try to figure out my life to knowledge that has helped me grow as a person as well as a student.

Last but not least, I want to thank all my friends who I've met in college for sticking by my side. Thank you for making college such a hard place to even think about leaving. Thank you for all the nights that consisted of complaining, venting, laughing, crying, eating too much and just simply being you. I don't know what I would do without all of you.

Now let's go make this the best years of our lives.