It was a quiet morning on the highway and I found myself against a tree with an ambulance and a tow truck approaching the scene ready to take away the very symbol of the day-to-day journey in life that I got to control.

Accidents happen to all of us, and it’s something that no one is free from. I was almost 19 when I got my first car. I came home from my freshman year of college and there she was, sitting in the driveway where my dad was waiting; ready to hand me the keys.

Adding a car to my social circle on campus is an incredible experience. Already having a solid friends group set up already was a circumstance that spared me of people becoming close just to get a ride out of me and making fake friends.

It also gave me some of the greatest adventures of my life.

There were countless adventures taken to the Red Arrow in Manchester at midnight, afternoon trips to the mall, and random rides at two in the morning just to get away for a few hours. Friendships were made every time I turned the key.

Insurance called two days later and gave me the news. I’ll never see you again. You won’t be taking us out to midnight breakfast anymore; nor will you be there to take me home for the weekend or off campus when I need to have a quiet therapy session with a few friends and some ice cream.

So you deserve a proper goodbye. You were always there to help me out – to help us out. You were the scene of so many incredible memories I know I’ll never forget. You were there through my first big heartbreak, and my second. You were there for my best and worst moments over some of the most important years of my life. You were the backdrop to some of the most amazing memories of my life.

With my last year of college coming close, I look back on how having you around changed the course of my college career. I can’t help but think of how much my plans for this year will change and how different it will be.

Moving on from college means losing a lot of things. I’ll lose the ease of living down the hall from all my best friends. I’ll lose the comfort of the security net being in school has given me for practically my entire life. I’ll lose the possibility of moments spent making friends and memories; not only in the parking lot, but in the pub, the dining center, and late nights in my dorm room.

Graduation is coming faster by the moment and, looking back at the past three years, I can’t help but be awestruck by an overwhelming sense of nostalgia for the things I’m leaving behind. But I know that what lies before me is so much greater.

So here’s to you, Elsa; as the first of many changes that will occur in my life in the coming months, you have taught me so many important things. Lessons that I can’t afford to take for granted as I move further into my life as an adult.

Waking up every day knowing that you’re not sitting in the driveway is something that will take getting used to. Losing you as a constant companion is a sudden change, and it is one of many. My life will soon change forever as I look into the possibilities following college. Sudden changes are a part of life. Some are expected, most are not. We have to adapt and learn to roll with the punches. Changes, just like accidents, are inevitable.