As I pulled away from the place I called home for my junior year, my life packed up in the back of my car, I could not help but feel a sense of loss. Another year came and went, and with that, all the memories, and I cannot believe senior year is on the horizon.

I did not have the typical college experience my first semester. In fact, I dreaded going back after my first Christmas break home and looked into transferring. My freshman dorm was isolating. No one talked to each other, everyone’s doors were always closed, and I knew nobody. Luckily, my roommate and I were able to switch dorms in October of my freshman year. If it weren’t for my new dorm, I would have left the school. It was a fundamental moment in my life, and I often look back and am so grateful I didn’t leave. My new floor was extremely welcoming. The doors were always open, everyone came by and introduced themselves, and we all went out as a floor my first weekend in my new room. My spirits were lifted tremendously, however, I still felt like an outsider. My roommate and I moved to this floor a month and a half into freshman year, so these girls all had formed friendships and memories. Second semester, though, things started to feel more comfortable. I got very close with some of the girls on my floor, I was able to be myself, and I started to enjoy my time at school. My experience started to feel how I imagined it would, it just took some time to get to that point.

Now done with my junior year, I cannot believe how fast the time goes by. Everyone told me when I left for school that it was “the fastest four years of your life.” I rolled my eyes because I heard that a million times, but slowly, the weeks turned into months, which turned into years, and without noticing it, the time flew, just like everyone said it would. Every year has been better than the last, which I did not think was possible. I have met the most amazing friends, laughed harder than I ever have before, had the greatest experiences at school, and grown into the person I am today.

College is stressful, no doubt, but when I look back at my last three years, here it what I remember: spontaneous adventures around town with friends, sitting in our family room watching shows together, finding every possible way to procrastinate and having plenty of friends to help me accomplish that, getting ready to go out (and our wonderful music playlists), talking about our nights out the next morning (or wondering what happened), and being together with my best friends as I have grown into the greatest version of myself.

I have realized that it is the people and the place that have helped me grow. In the grand scheme of things, all the stresses of work, tests, and papers will not be vivid memories when I look back on my college career. I will remember that one time we played April Fool’s Day pranks on each other (and how some didn’t go as planned) or that other time we decided to randomly go out on a Wednesday night. I started at a school I was unsure about, but I overcame the difficulties, and it has been the most rewarding experience. These have been the happiest years of my life. Here is to one more year; I have no doubt senior year will be the best one yet.