To my first year of college,

Everyone always says, “college will be the best days of your life”, but that was not on my mind as I hugged my parents goodbye for the final time before my first night on campus. I was excited, yet very scared to be in an unfamiliar place surrounded by unfamiliar people. The homesickness kicked in fast. All I wished for was that summer would come quickly, so I could sleep home in my own bed and have a family dinner in my dining room. May could not come soon enough. Before I knew it, the first night became the first week, and the first week became the first month. With May now approaching, I now am dreading leaving friends, memories, and my second home behind until fall.

Some of those unfamiliar faces on campus became friends of a lifetime. Friends that all came from different backgrounds, but all share the same similarity of attending the same university. It was crazy to become such great friends with people that hardly had anything in common with me. These are the people that I am looking forward to having lifelong friendships and endless memories with. I am dreading leaving the new friends I have made, but at the same time I am looking forward to seeing my highschool friends in a few short weeks.

Looking back, I can not believe how much I have grown as a person in less than a year. The experiences that college has given me the opportunity to take part in have allowed me to grow in so many aspects. I have learned that there are so many different people and viewpoints in our society, and I have had the opportunity to sculpt my own opinions as well. I have matured into an independent and hardworking college student who is thrilled to see the opportunity a college education will bring me in the future. I have learned to focus on important things that will prepare me for my future, and have realized that some things that I thought were important in highschool mean nothing now.

So far, everyone was right… college is the best years of your life. It is filled with breathtaking memories and opportunities of a lifetime. It is the last time in life that is acceptable to be an independent adult while still having fun as a kid. Do not wish any time away because it will be a once in a lifetime experience that can never be replayed. My first year has flew by in a blink of an eye. In that blink of an eye you go from spending your first night on campus, to spending your last night as a freshman. Kenny Chesney’s words could not be any truer, “Don’t blink, life goes faster than you think.”