As my college career finally draws to an end after four very long years, I can’t help but feel a range of emotion on the spectrum from excited, to absolutely terrified, to downright nauseous. My safety net is going to be gone. I’m going to be entering the real world. The next step feels like I’m going to have to close my eyes, step off the edge of a cliff, and hope that there is something below to catch me. But, those feelings aside, there’s also sadness and an overwhelming amount of thankfulness for everybody who has been part of this journey. So here’s a little thank you letter to the people who have gotten me through this part of my life.

Thank you to my cousin’s fiancee, who was the one that helped me get into college in the first place. Without him, I’d also be bumbling through the job world right now without a clue (and although technically I am, he nudges me in the right direction and spams me with emails about jobs.)

Thank you to my uncle, who drove the two hours to come get me and bring me home anytime I asked him to. And thank you to the dream team who brought me back to school almost every time. Those rides back were one of my favorite parts about school, and made it a little easier (especially the singing when you drop me off, even though we never get it right.) Thank you to my aunt, also, who always had a little money to slip into my hand on the way out, or who had the best little bit of life advice to send me back to school with, and who never failed sending me a Snapchat of a baby at least once a day.

Thank you to my cousins who are always a phone call away. Even though you lie when you say that you “just had a feeling,” thank you for calling me to make sure I’m okay and for sending me Snapchats of the babies to make my day a little bit better.

Thank you to my parents, who, when they could get the day off or when the car could be trusted, would be the ones to take me back to school. Thank you to my parents in general, though, who had to deal with a lot of late night, hysterical phone calls. Thank you for taking me through it, talking me off the ledge, and for always being there to pick up the phone.

Thank you to my housemates, who have been my best friends since freshman year. From living in the dorm to living in a house off-campus, thank you for being there no matter what happens. I’ll never be able to explain to you how important you all have become in my life, and how I wouldn’t have made it through school without you. Thank you to all the best friends I’ve made throughout this four years both in the classroom and out. Without your presence, I know my college career would have sucked a lot. Thank you for your advice, your support, your help through confusing class assignments, your encouragement when I could not care less about school anymore, and for always being there to hang out with me before class. Thank you for becoming my role models, to be nearly as smart and as cool as you all are, and for teaching me a lot about life.

Thank you to my professors who have become my role models and for making me feel better about pursuing an English degree. A lot of people have made jokes about it, a lot of people have judged my decision, but at least at school, I know people can be successful with it. It’s not the easiest degree to get a job with but my professors have pointed me in the right direction in the countless times I’ve been lost. They’ve taught me so much, shaped me as a better person, and made every day better because I got to go to their class.

Thank you to my grandma, who never failed to send me an email telling me how proud she was right when I needed her the most. Thank you for always wanting to hear stories about school and for calling to see how I’m doing. You may think you’ve only been a little part of my college experience, but your love and support always came at just the right time.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my life these last four years, even if your moment was brief. When I graduate, it’s not going to be the partying and drinking that I miss. It’s going to be the laughs in class and the excitement of seeing people visit me. It’s going to be sitting on the couch, watching a movie and doing homework and eating dinner, hanging out with my friends and laughing about stories from last night. It’s going to be the late-night fast food runs, the “good mornings” and “good nights,” and the peacefulness of sitting outside on the stoop in the sunlight until a bee comes by and everybody runs inside.

It’s terrifying to think of the unknown that comes with graduating college. But I’ve been overwhelmingly lucky to have so much support and love these past four years, and I know that I’m coming out of school with an even bigger support system than I went in with. So, thank you, everyone, for everything you’ve done to get me through these last four years. I promise the emotional roller-coaster will end...eventually.

Love,