Ah, the freshman dorm. The teeny tiny 11x13 ft jail cell that is basically a rite of passage. Yet despite the community bathrooms and creepy hospital white walls, once your time in the shoebox comes to an end, you find yourself wishing you had just a little bit longer. So, as I lock my door, de-loft my bed, and say goodbye to my home away from home, I wanted to say thank you. After all I've put 537 through, it's the least I can do.

Thank you for bringing me my favorite people

I am one of those lucky people who actually love their roommate, and I was even luckier to get to love two! The first I met after she slid into my dms and the second was my very first friend I met at UGA. (My first one left me for Disney world, but that's a different story). You brought me two people who I am better for knowing and lucky to have lived with. I never would have made it out of freshman year with my sanity if not for these two! Thanks for putting up with me, loves.

Thank you for letting me escape the dining hall

I would truly be lost without my mini fridge and basket (OK, bucket) of snacks. If I had to make the trek to the dining halls every time I was hungry, I definitely wouldn't have gained the freshman 15, but you allowed me to be lazy and I am forever grateful for not having to eat dining hall food/actually pay for food every time I needed a 2 A.M. snack.

Thank you for letting me destroy you (I'm so sorry)

It didn't take long for me to cover it seems every inch of my walls with pictures of my friends, family and Leonardo DiCaprio. When I take down all my decorations at the end of this year (tear), I have accepted I will also be taking at-least two layers of paint with me. And I'm sorry for the random stains on the carpet for the times when I didn't watch where I was going and accidentally knocked over an entire cup of coffee, or that one time where I slipped and spilled an entire bowl of soup everywhere. I'm definitely leaving my mark, but it's at your expense.

Thank you for being relatively soundproof so that my friends and I could make as much noise as we could

Because I know that annoying throwback playlist we blast while getting ready for a night out is not for everyone, but your walls kept me from making enemies (or at least from having awkward "please keep it down" conversations).

Thank you for being the perfect place to bond with my bffs

In the first few weeks of not knowing a single soul, the classic "hey, you wanna get ready in my dorm?" for every social, DT outing or date night was the perfect way to get to know someone new. I can't thank you enough for those times when I bonded with my now future bridesmaids.

Thank you for giving me a home

It may have been a shoebox, but it was my home. My comfort zone, my happy place: my home away from home. No matter what was going on in my life, I always had 537 to come back to and binge watch Netflix with my besties or take a nap after a particularly rough pre-calc test.

My dorm may have had dirty tile floors, a questionable blue mattress and teeny-tiny storage space, but I got so much out of it. I only wish I had a better way to thank it.

And to whoever inhabits Russell 537 next year, I hope you love it as much I as do.