Dear Freshman Year Dorm Room,

Wow. It's hard to believe that a few short months ago I was opening your door for the first time. Filled with anxiety, lugging in boxes and boxes of personal items in 102 degree heat over your threshold, meeting a relative stranger whom I would be sharing your space with, staring at your white walls and cookie cutter furniture, wondering what in the world I had just gotten myself into.

Over the next few hours, you were essentially flipped around on your head. Your white walls were plastered with posters, bulletin boards, paintings and calender's,your the desks, beds and dressers rearranged in unrecognizable patterns. Everything was utter chaos, and then, suddenly, it wasn't anymore. All boxes had been unloaded, goodbyes had been said, and everything was relativity calm once again.

And from that moment on, your walls became a life-line. Your walls were home to the comings and goings of new friends, game nights, movie marathons, jokes, and laughter. Of countless homesick sleepless nights, midnight roommates inside jokes, and numerous phone calls home. Of midnight snacks, innumerable amounts of Ramen Noodles, and unhealthy amounts of candy snacking. You held late night cram sessions and early morning alarms. You held laughter with friends and tears of first heartbreaks and long nights.

You a safe space. My sanctuary. My one place of peace and familiarity in an entirely strange and unfamiliar environment.

You were my home.

And the days leading up to moving out of you were filled with reminiscing. Smiling back on the good times, and even being thankful for the bad ones. And now that all of my things are returned to boxes, the bed back down to its un-lofted position, the closet emptied and the bathroom has been scrubbed spotless, I want to say thank you.

Thank you for being home to the craziest year of my life. Thank you for being a haven of laughter for my friends, and for catching my tears when things got hard.

I don't know who will be living within your walls next, but I hope they can look back fondly on their time with you as their home as I do.

Love,

The 2015-2016 Resident of Room 304