Moving to college is a feeling that is hard to describe. Mostly it’s just a bunch of feelings all at once, and your trying to figure it all out but you can’t because you’re in the middle of Target with your mom and she’s asking you a million questions about shower totes and shoe racks. Yikes. It's exciting, it's new, and it's absolutely terrifying. As a senior now it's so amusing to look back at my freshman self. I can see myself, sporting my Coach lanyard around my neck with my shiny new student ID sitting proudly inside the sleeve. Little did I know that in the years to come I would be tempted to sell my body for Pancheros burritos and tequila shots, not in that order.

I also thought that my hometown friends would never be replaced. I was so incredibly wrong. I don't mean that in a bad way. They will all have a place in my heart forever, and the memories will remain unchanged. Coming from a rural community I had my fair share of Busch Lights in barns and buzzed bonfires. The people that were beside me then will always be special to me, and I will always be wishing them well from wherever I am.

But people change, and go their own ways. It's a fact of life. We meet new people, create new memories, and wake up hungover with mascara smeared down our cheeks on new pillows. And this is okay. We all have to break off to become who we are meant to be.

Gretta was the first friend that I made in college, and we bonded over our mutual love of Gossip Girl. I was in love with her sass, shocked by her closet, and extremely impressed by her loyalty. She introduced me to Vera Bradley products, gave the best birthday gifts, and laughed herself to tears with me more than once. If you needed emotionless advice, Gretta was your go to. Not emotionless in a bad way, but in a logical way. She gave advice that was factual, and not blurred by feelings. And so often this is what I needed, even if I didn't know it yet. She would cut a man's throat for her friends, and for me she almost did. It was from her that I learned how to stick up for myself, stick up for my friends, and how to stop making excuses for other people. Gretta sets the bar high when it comes to her expectations of those around her, and it's something we should all do a little more of.

Gretta introduced me to Sonia, her friend from home. I immediately adored this tiny little creature, and these two became extensions of myself for the next two years. Anywhere I went, one of them was with me it seemed. Everywhere Sonia goes, she has earbuds in. We were musically compatible and stayed up late screaming along to various Mayday Parade songs more times than I'd like to admit. Over the years, significant others would crush us, but we'd find a way to cope through morbid humor and heartbreaking lyrics. Anytime I get a wild hair and decide to exercise, she would accompany me. Overall, we have ran more beer pong tables than we ever have miles. It is from Sonia that I learned how to get into my feelings, and embrace them. It's okay to not be okay, as long as you let your friends walk next to you, carrying a flashlight for you through your darkest times.

Another exciting part of college is that if other people from your hometown go to the same college, then the friends they make are automatically your friends too, right? Probably not, but oh well. It's through a mutual friend that I met Kendall. I had heard her name, seen her on social media, and all those usual things, but it wasn't until I saw her twitter picture that I knew a friendship was to be made. You see, her twitter picture was a photo of her eating pizza. I loved it. Mostly because mine was the same exact thing. I thought, "Is there really another person as f*cking weird as me?" The answer is yes, and she is a beer-chugging ball of attitude that is always down to eat three days worth of calories with me in one sitting, while we gossip about everything. I've never been so glad to hear how many names someone has for all of their different blankets. Kendall is quirky, fun, and down to earth. She taught me that beer is a gift from God and it's rude to refuse it. It's okay to go out on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, maybe even Sunday night. Live your damn life.

If you come from a smaller town, you know mostly everyone in the surrounding three towns. For me, this led me to become friends with Rachel. I will not go into the details, because it involved the egging of someone's house, which I swear I had nothing to do with. What I can say is that Rachel is more than likely my own personal guardian angel sent down from heaven above. I've never met a person who can be so damn forgiving, understanding, realistic, and willing to help others. I've spent so many nights crying to her, or letting her cry to me. I've spent so many more nights passed out in her bed because I didn't want to sleep alone when I was upset about something. She is my go to girl when I want a back rub, and I swear to God it's strictly platonic, no matter how many times we've ended up spooning. I could write a book about this big-eyed human that eats her chicken wings with no sauce but makes up for it by folding my laundry and telling me i'm a good person even when I don't believe it myself. I've learned so much from her, but mostly I've learned how to love myself, and how to make others feel not so alone when the world can be such a cold place.

Sometimes the best of friends are the ones you'd never expect. For example, Sage MF Richmond. I don't know why I refer to her as that, but it's permanent. She was dating a guy who was a friend of some friends. She was also awkward and quiet and not that good at dancing. It really didn't take long for me to become OBSESSED with Sage. She's truly one of the most amazing humans I've ever met. She's like that girl in the movie that is a 10/10 but doesn't know it. There has only been one occasion where i've questioned our friendship, and it's when she wouldn't stop dancing at a country bar, and she kept getting closer and closer to the woman who was dancing with a plastic goose. I couldn't believe the scene unfolding in front of me, and I needed to abort the mission. Sage danced on anyways. I've never met someone as real as Sage. She's truly a package deal. It's from Sage that I learned how to love all aspects of life, the highs, the lows, the sad, the happy, the dancing, the "slothing" and everything awkward in between.

It was in Rhetoric class that I met the dynamic duo that I know will be in my wedding. Zuleyma and Maddie were like nobody I'd ever met before. They were bold. They were loud. They were funny. I didn't understand how their eyebrows were so visible when mine had an opacity of 20%. I later learned that there is stuff you can rub onto your eyebrows to make you prettier. They "contoured" which at the time I thought was a type of yoga or pilates. It's not, by the way. Sure enough, we all hung out. I learned a lot from them. Zuleyma is this wild woman who lives life on the edge and it's terrifying. Quite frankly she stresses me out. In the long run, she's taught me how to loosen the f*ck up, and do things on a whim. Not everything is a big deal, and most things can be solved with brunch.

Maddie opened my eyes to so many concepts. She taught me it's okay to love with your entire heart, and it's important to stand up for what you believe in. We've clashed significantly over the years, and I'm pretty sure everyone else in our friend group has wanted to punch both of us on numerous occasions. The thing about Maddie and I is that we are very different, we are both vocal, we are both stubborn, and we are both sensitive. And it wasn't until I was borderline crying on a Davenport street, that I realized what truly matters. In the midst of everything going on, it was her of all people who saw me, it was her that gave me a hug that night, and asked if I was okay. In that moment I realized it doesn't matter if we want to put gum in each other's hair sometimes. It matters that when push comes to shove, you'll be there for someone. Maddie taught me how to love a person, even if I don't necessarily like them right that second, and the importance of embracing other types of human beings.

It was a night out on the town with those two, that I met a cute tiny little brunette in a hot pink romper. She was quiet, and it was her birthday. Who would have thought that I'd eventually share a bathroom with this girl. BritMart, whose full name I refuse to use because BritMart is her name now, is one of my nearest and dearest friends. She's my roommate, and she's actually my sister now too because her mom said it was okay. Anyways, she's so many things wrapped into one. She can go from WILDIN' to Business Casual in no time. She introduced me to Vine wings and Tarte eye shadow, and she is the only young person I know that utilizes email. BritMart has taught me so many things, but one thing I admire about her most is how driven she is. She taught me the importance of focusing on yourself, your goals, success, and your future. She also taught me to embrace my self-worth. She balances beer, books, and sleep better than anyone I know, and I am so grateful that I've been able to witness her in action and learn her ways. I'm also grateful that I've established a life-long friendship with a future lawyer because who knows when that will come in handy, ya know?

Between eating and crying in college, I've also made time to have a job. It is at my job that I met the last two people that make up this list.

Hannah was shy, and we forced ourselves into her life. She probably didn't deserve the hot mess that is our friend group, but here we are now. Once I got past trying to figure out if she liked me or not, I began to really appreciate Hannah. She loves to take shots, and is always a good sport when we capture her worst angles in photos and spend the next seven months using those photos as memes in our group chat, as well as on social media. She is a go-getter. She works out a lot, by choice. It's strange. But it's also taught me a lot about myself and my own goals. She makes it simple. If you want it, go get it. No b*llshit. Our squad, as well as my life, would be so bland without this napping, dog loving, food stealing, fitness enthusiast in it.

Another legendary friendship that was made at work is Jenna. It should be illegal for us to be friends, especially since so many of our activities are in fact, illegal. If any future employer is reading this, I'm joking about the illegal activities. This fantastic human being has left me recently to spread her wings in Spain. I am super inconvenienced by this departure and am looking forward to our ridiculous activities to come. Jenna is also a driven person, and once she sets her mind to something it's game over. She's going to do it. I've never met a goofier person with such a love for life. She balances me. She can be so negative and make all the morbid jokes in the world with me, but she knows when to pick me up and dust me off. She also picked up a sink and dusted it off once because I knocked it off. the. wall. I would die without Jenna, and although she is thousands of miles away, I know I can count on her for anything. Jenna taught me how to chase your dreams, the importance of juicing (nope), and the art of motivating yourself. It's because of her that I'm taking so many leaps in this final year of college. I'm putting myself out there, and I'm excited to chase my dreams after graduation just like she is chasing hers.

As I look above I realize that the names above are not only names of some of the valuable people I've met in the last four years, but also names of people who I'm convinced will be in my life forever. I love each and every one of you, and I'm so happy that I ended up here, knowing all of you, and taking with me the lessons I've learned with you.