Going away to school came with an incredible amount of mixed emotions. Although everyone I knew told me it would be the most amazing four years of my life, I couldn't help but think that it wouldn't be that way for me. It was so hard to imagine myself two hours away from everyone and everything I ever knew and still, somehow, be able to manage. I learned very quickly that going away to college was going to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. With all of the ups and downs, successes, failures, and everything in between, there is one thing I never expected to gain from this : a second family. I didn't realize how indebted I was to them until I had to say goodbye to them for what seemed like a lifetime, aka four months. Here are a few things I wanted to say thank you for, just in case I haven't.

Thank you for always having my back.

No matter what it was, I knew I could always rely on them to support me. There wasn't a day in sight I needed a shoulder to lean on and I didn't have at least five or six to choose from.

Thank you for keeping me in check.

With going away to college comes an incredible amount of freedom. It was a lot easier than I thought to lose sight of what was important. I always had more than a few people giving me mom lectures when I needed them. Although it might have worked my nerves a little, it was definitely needed and very much appreciated.

Thank you for listening.

I can't count the amount of times I needed to have a quick mental breakdown and cry about everything that ever went wrong in my 18 years of life. As crazy and extremely annoying as I know I sounded, there was never a lack of ears waiting to hear everything I needed to say.

Thank you for making all-nighters somewhat bearable.

Yes, I know I probably shouldn't have taken a three-hour nap after class when I had to be up at 8 a.m. the next morning. The 4 a.m. pizza runs and dance parties made those nights a lot easier, so thanks.

Thank you for being my second family.

It is extremely difficult to put into words how hard it is to leave all you know to essentially be thrown into the unknown. I was given the most incredible group of friends that became more like my brothers and sisters at the end of it all. Things were a lot easier to get through when school became like a second home with people who became your second family.

Thank you for loving me for me.

I can assure you they're all going to get on me for being entirely too sappy, but there is no thank you more important than this. I was thrown into a sea of people who were all experiencing the same thing I was and somehow, we all managed to be ourselves (hopefully). This is scary when you're not entirely sure who you're supposed to be yet. With that being said, there was no better feeling than being able to be seen on your best days along with your absolute worst and still be loved and accepted exactly the same.

I'm still not sure where I'm going with my life which only means I still don't know who I'm going with. Wherever and whoever that might be, the family I made my first year of college will always hold a huge part of me. I will never be able to hand out enough thank you's to make up for everything they did and continue to do for me. So, to my floor mates all the way to my pals across campus, thank you for being you, thank you for loving me and thank you for being my home away from home; my college family.