One of the most tragic parts of college is making friends with upperclassmen that will graduate and move on before your time is done. Each year, another part of your group of friends leaves and you come back the next semester feeling a little bit lonelier. I'm finishing up my sophomore year of college and all of my housemates have graduated and left or are graduating. So, to my friends graduating, here are a few sentiments I want you to know.

1. Thank you for helping me when I first started college.

Being a freshman is a terrifying experience, especially for the first few weeks. I am so grateful that my upperclassmen friends quickly took me under their wing and help me figure out how to navigate college.

2. Thank you for helping me grow up.

When I met my upperclassmen friends, they seemed to have life figured out. They had two or more years of experience than I did and they really helped me figure out how to start becoming an adult. I will be forever grateful for the friend that first taught me how to pay my own bills.

3. Thank you for every memory.

From fun weekend nights to sitting on our front porch for hours to being there for each other when we needed it most, I have memories to last a lifetime with these friends. These are the times I will look back on 20 years from now and be incredibly grateful to have.

4. I will miss you more than you know.

For the next two years while I finish my undergrad, I know there will be many moments where I wish these friends were still here with me. They have been a part of almost every memory I have made here at college and so much will remind me of them.

5. I am so proud of you.

I have watched my friends finish up their senior seminars, student teaching and take their grad-school entrance exams. I have seen them through some of the most stressful moments of their academic careers and now they have finally made it and are graduating. I could not be more proud of all they have accomplished.

6. Come back and visit.

For as long as I am in college, my friends will have a home they know they can return to. Any time they want to have a weekend to relive their college days, I will be the first to volunteer my house for them.

7. Good luck!

Some of my friends are continuing on to grad school and others are entering the work force. Whatever they have decided to do, I wish them the best of luck. I know they will be successful in all their endeavors.

The next two years of my undergrad will be filled with me saying "remember that time with...?" These friends have made such an impact on my life, future and college career and I will never forget that. I cannot express the gratitude I feel towards them and how painful it is for me to say goodbye. What I do know is that i already can't wait for our reunions,