Looking at the calendar in my planner, I am mind blown that it’s almost the end of April and there is only 1 week left of my junior year before finals begin and I will officially be a senior. WHAT?!? Did you say…SENIOR?!? Oh god, my stomach just dropped. I’m not ready. Where the heck did this year go? How am I 1 week from being a senior? Wasn’t it just last month that I was relaxing by the CopperBeech pool during Frog Week without a care in the world?

Fast forward 8 months and I am in the core group of classes for both of my majors, stressing about my 6th round of final exams, trying to sort out my summer plans with internships, and preparing to have major separation anxiety from my friends for a third summer. Everything is coming to an end and I am in a state of nostalgia. This year was full of amazing memories that have made my college experience even more enjoyable. Yet at the same time, I am relieved and prepared for the most stressful semester of my college career to come to an end.

I stepped foot onto this amazing campus 3 years ago as a scared freshman 10 hours away from home. THREE WHOLE YEARS AGO. WOW. I MUST’VE BLINKED AND TIME SPRINTED AHEAD. Could I pass as a freshman again? I look pretty young. Most people take the cliché for granted but it really is true.

College is the quickest four years of your life.

I couldn’t have made a better decision to go out of my comfort zone and put myself in a completely different environment.

I have always been independent but attending a school so far away, knowing I would only be able to come home during school vacations, made me realize I had a lot to prepare for. Not for a second, though, did I think twice about choosing the right school.

I am beyond proud to call this place my second home.

I have grown so much since that first day when I pulled up to my new home in my mom’s minivan, unable to see out the window with all of my belongings obstructing my view.

Seeing all of the seniors on the quad this week, taking their graduation photos is both exciting yet TERRIFYING. I keep thinking about what I’ll wear when it’s time for me to graduate and how I’ll decorate my grad cap. I am also sad because I’m not ready to be a senior yet and have to prepare for leaving this place! I can’t get it through my head that in one week, when people ask me what year I am, I’ll have to answer “a senior.”

The words will taste awful in my mouth, as I will have to force myself to say them. Just a few weeks ago, I registered for my last fall semester of classes and despite all the stress of deciding your schedule, I know I’m going to miss it a year from now.

In the last three years, I have made friends that will one day be my bridesmaids, experiences that I will never forget, and one more year that I will cherish with everything I have.

Wish me luck!