Not only am I a second semester senior, I'm a second semester senior getting emails from teachers saying grades are wrapping up and final exams are right around the corner.

When we graduated high school we all had some crazy adventure to look forward to -- college. Yeah, leaving mom was going to be tough, and we would quickly realize that we took advantage of the free, home cooked meals, easy classes, and no debt, but we held onto the idea that our newfound freedom would make it work.

Well, four years (five if you're lucky), went a lot quicker than you expected. Mom and dad are meeting you at school with the U-haul instead of dropping you off. You’re packing up loads and loads of memories you will never forget and thinking about how right all those parents were when they told you college is the best four years of your life.

With all of the all-nighters in the library, the groceries you couldn't afford, and the professors that wouldn't buy your excuses, why was college so great?

Because it too turned into home.

College was a place where friends in different stages and of different ages came together.

You were once the baby on campus, afraid you would get lost finding your classes on the first day. You relied on the upperclassmen to show you the ropes and hopefully give you enough advice to make it through. You survived the sophomore slump, and before you knew it, you were half-way through your college career. This is when it gets real. You hit the climax and you're coasting down the mountain. Job applications may be as frequent as “Thirsty Thursdays,” but you pretend to focus on the weekend before you let yourself think about graduation. Junior year you stop complaining about the lack of parking spaces on campus and start focusing on the important things. By senior year there was so much more to it than school. You realized that the past three years have meant the world to you, and it's not because your GPA was good enough to land the job.

You learned that mistakes provide the best lessons. Whether it was with your college sweetheart or a risk you shouldn't have taken, college is a time where the mistakes you make are justified by the lessons learned. In the moment, it may have seemed like the worst thing ever, but take a second to process it, and I promise you'll find the life changing lesson in there somewhere.

You learned that there's life outside of the classroom. The quizzes and tests will force you to study, but the sorority, the clubs, the campus ministries, and the athletics teams will have you learning real life stuff- the stuff that will resonate with you, the stuff that will impact you.

You learned that time really does fly by, and the better it is, the quicker it passes. You learned that the best moments are the moments so small you don't even realize them until you look back. The moments when, surrounded by the people you love, college feels like home.

As we all go our separate ways, and this chapter comes to a close, reflect on the moments and the memories that made it so great. Take a second to take it all in. Think about those memories that fill you with joy, and remember why. Think about the times you wanted to quit and give up, and realize how far you've come since then.

Finally, think about who you were when your parents dropped you off for the first time and rest in knowing who you are today. Your college experience may always have a piece of you, but you will always have a piece of it. It helped make you who you are today.

Now use that, and go rock who you will be tomorrow!