This past week, I received a message from my university saying that I was eligible to apply for graduation. I sat there staring at my laptop for a ridiculous amount of time before I was able to truly process what that meant. In about eight months, I will have to put on my cap and gown, walk across a stage in front of thousands of my peers, and receive a piece of paper that tells me I have to leave the place I’ve called home the past four years.

My first thought was that this must be one big misunderstanding. How did this creep up on me so fast? It feels like just yesterday that I was packing up my bags and moving into my dorm freshman year.

Freshman year was a year of firsts; I was living on my own for the first time, and I had the freedom to do what I wanted when I wanted to do it. I was entering young adulthood and everything was new and exciting.

I am now starting to realize that my senior year is going to be a year of lasts.

This is the last year I will have a “first day of school." This is the last year I will get to live with 70 girls in my sorority house of Alpha Chi Omega who have my back every single day without fail. This is the last year I will have to worry about buying textbooks, taking finals, and turning in homework on time. This is the last year I will get to take the soccer field on the weekends. This is the last year I will be living steps away from my best friends, and it breaks my heart knowing that things do change after graduation —some things for the better, but things do change.

I’m going to miss the all-nighters with my friends cramming for exams we should have studied for days in advance. I am going to miss dressing up in makeshift costumes for themed exchanges on the weekends with our neighboring fraternities. College football game days won’t be the same once I am no longer a part of the student body. I’m going to miss the little things like late-night coffee runs and sushi dates, but most of all, I am going to miss the loving, supportive community I have here on campus.

This chapter in my life is going to end, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

I’ve tried to do it all in college. So far in my 21 years of life, college has seemed like the biggest deal in the world, but in the grand scheme of things, four years is a very short time. Wherever you decide to spend your college years, you will be presented with countless opportunities.

If I could give you one piece of advice, I would tell you to try and do it all. Cram your schedule with activities, clubs, sports, classes, and whatever else you can add to your plate. Yes, it might stress you out at times, but you are young, and this is the only time in your life when you can experiment with all of these activities at once. You can afford to lose a little sleep and spread yourself a little thin for the sake of finding your drive and your passions. You don’t want to look back in 20 years and regret all of the opportunities you missed.

In my four years, I played collegiate soccer, joined a sorority, was involved in both intramural and club sports, took a full class load, studied abroad, started writing for the Odyssey, made the best friends a girl could ask for, and discovered so much about myself. College has been such an incredible learning experience, both in and out of the classroom. Looking back, I can honestly say I will be graduating with absolutely no regrets. If I could go back to my first day of freshman year and do it all over again, I would, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

I am scared to death to leave this place, but am confident and hopeful for the future. These past four years have set me up for nothing but success and have shaped me into the person I am today. The countdown till I have to enter the real world has begun.