I can still remember the day I opened that giant envelope in the mail that contained my acceptance letter to Rowan University. I was so beyond proud. I had applied to a few other colleges, but I knew I wanted to go to Rowan.

This was almost four years ago.

More often than not, students mock this university. Whether it be because it constantly rains in this town or because you’re more likely to find parking on the moon than in the parking lots on campus. Despite its numerous but minor flaws, I have grown to fall in love with Rowan over the past few years I’ve spent here. As I prepare to graduate in just a few months, I’m beginning to look back at all the things Rowan has given to me, as well as taught me.

For starters, Rowan gave me my best friend and when I look back on college, I can’t think of one memory that she isn’t apart of. She is the kind of friend that would drive past the guys house you like with you a hundred times to see if he’s home. Or chow down on Chipotle together and watch movies that make you cry. She’s someone I can tell anything to. While plenty of things have changed since freshman year, our friendship has not.

Another thing Rowan gave me was a bigger family. And when I say bigger family, I’m referring to the 100 plus sorority sisters I am blessed to call mine. These girls have been my laughter for the past year and I’m not exactly sure how I lived almost 20 years of my life without them. Like any family, ours is dysfunctional. But at the end of the day, I know I have more than 100 people standing behind me, no matter what.

Despite all the good Rowan has shown me, there has also been the bad. During my time at Rowan, I have experienced heartbreak and defeat. I’ve been rejected. I’ve accumulated ex-boyfriends, as well as ex-friends. There have been plenty of tears and moments where I wasn’t sure if I belonged here anymore.

Through the good and the bad, I have grown. I have grown to learn so much about myself through this school. I have learned that I can be a leader and how powerful your opinion can be if you express it. I have learned that going out on a Monday is way more important than studying for that exam. I have learned that boyfriends are temporary and girlfriends are forever. I learned that no matter what you do, if put your whole heart in it, you will get what you deserve out of it.

I have also learned that college doesn’t last forever and it is so true when people say college “flies by.” So, with next semester being my last, I am hoping to learn more than ever. I’m hoping to suck every last thing I can out of this school before I leave. I want to remember college as an amazing ride that shaped me into whoever I’m going to be one day.

Regardless of who that person I’m going to become one day is, I know she’ll be a proud Rowan grad.