As the year comes to a close and I pack up my thousands of t-shirts, vacuum the rug for the first time all semester and dust off the textbooks I never opened, I am actually getting slightly nostalgic about moving out of Ruth Collins Hall. The building might be older than my great-great-great grandmother, but like any antique it has some redeeming qualities.

Thank you for introducing me to my best friends. At first, I was skeptical about living in a building with 600 girls, but it ended up being one of the biggest blessings. Without living on the fifth floor of Collins, I wouldn’t have constantly been around the girls I now call my best friends. I wouldn’t have been able to walk two doors to the left or right, right into the rooms of girls who were always down to make cookies or pizza rolls.

Thank you for getting rid of my Only Child Syndrome, which I had a severe case of. Living in a 12x12 room with someone I barely knew in August really got me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to share. Also, having never shared a bathroom let alone a shower in my life, having community bathrooms almost made me lose my mind. Now, I enjoy sharing shower time with my roomie and our friends, jammin’ out and commiserating over the cold water and sorry water pressure.

Thank you for being dangerously close to Common Grounds and Pizza Hut. I wouldn’t have gotten through those late nights without either one of those.

Thank you for teaching me empathy. I have learned to put myself in the shoes of my sweet upstairs neighbors who decide to move all of their furniture at 1:00 a.m. Maybe they’re interior design majors trying to get some #inspo. Putting the pillow over your head is a far better option than going upstairs and confronting them, I’ve learned. Maybe the girls that leave hair all up in the shower were never taught manners. Maybe the girl that picked through my laundry and stole my Lululemon leggings just really needed some. Empathy. Patience. Hold that tongue.

Thank you for giving me so many clothing options. If I ever need an outfit for any occasion, I can rely on my neighbors’ closets and they can rely on mine.

Thank you for making me appreciate my parent’s house so much more. Coming home becomes like a mini-vacation full of home made food, hot showers and your very own bed that doesn’t look (and sound) like it’s on it’s last leg — and I don’t think anything beats that.

Thank you for also being my home away from home. A place that oddly enough, I look forward to coming back to (sometimes). A place with familiar faces, baked goods and fun events every now and then.

And thank you for giving me unforgettable memories. Living in Collins is something I will never regret, but don’t necessarily want to do ever again.

Thanks for the mems. Love you, Ruth.