Here's to you: the people I've met in my four years who have shaped me into the person I am today.

Here's to the friendships that have lasted from the beginning when we were wide-eyed freshmen. We've stuck with each other over hills and hardships.

Here's to the friendships that came at the end—to the people that popped into vision or stepped forward from the background in the midst of graduation.

Here's to the friendships that lasted a few days or a few months—to the friendships that faded away as we walked down different paths.

Here's to the unexpected friendships, to the people that sent a wave crashing over your life as they melded their lives with yours and mashed together into one amazing house on North Fountain Avenue.

Here's to every heart to heart on a back porch in the middle of September. Here's to every motivational speech in the snow about the insignificance of petty problems in the grand scheme of life. Here's to every drunken proclamation of love as we stumbled down the sidewalk to the comfort of our beds and the prospects of pizza.

Here's to every streaking adventure—the feeling of dewy grass numbing my bare feet as I stride across the hollow with my best friends makes me feel alive deep down in my bones. Freedom is moonlit bodies and giggling echoes in the dead of night.

Here's to every "Friends" marathon and dance party and impromptu celebration when we should have been studying.

Here's to the teammates and sisters and classmates and study buddies and housemates and Frankies who make my life complete.

Here's to every night spent in a study room in the library, pouring over notes and books and study guides. Here's to the shared tears and laughter and coffee stains.

Here's to shared looks—to every professor who has called me out in class for being overly expressive and every classmate who's been the recipient of that raised eyebrow, side-eye or eye-roll and every person that made me react that way.

Here's to the professors who turned into friends and shared their passion for learning. Here's to the coaches who truly care about their athletes and want them to succeed. Here's to the administrators and staff who offer advice and encourage their student workers to create amazing projects and pursue the best life has to offer.

Here's to the people that make this beautiful campus so much more than a pretty picture or #WittPix. You've made this place home.

Here's to the strangers who turned into family and make me ache at the thought of leaving.

But this isn't goodbye. I'll be back. I really don't think I'll ever be able to stay away from this place and the people I love so much it hurts.

It seems fitting to dedicate my final Odyssey article to the place where it all began.

I chose this school on a whim—I found a mistake in an Admissions brochure and emailed the school about it. Naturally, I was inundated with mail and figured I might as well give this grammatically incorrect school a chance. And I'm so glad I did. The moment I stepped foot on campus, I knew this place would be my home. There's something special here.

Thanks for all the opportunities. I am a Division III athlete. I am a Greek woman. I am an organization president. I am a campus leader. I am a volunteer. I am part of a community that encourages over-involvement and critical engagement. And I am just one of almost 2,000 students: Imagine all the good we can put out in the world if we all care this much in this tiny little microcosm of a campus.

Thanks for the people. I have never met more dedicated, intelligent and incredible people.

Thanks for the traditions. I've learned to embrace the weird things in life with open arms.

Thanks for the struggles. I have been rejected and told "no." I have been denied and I have fallen. This is where I have failed and learned enough about myself to shape me into the person I am today.

I am a Wittenberg Tiger, and I couldn't have been more proud to stomp the seal on Saturday and join the network of successful alumni around the world.

Thanks for everything, Witt.

To finish, I'll offer up some advice: relationships are what ground you in life and bring you back home. If you have the chance to connect with someone new or continue a friendship, act on it. Don't get so wrapped up in your problems that you forget your time here with these people is fleeting. Jump out onto that limb: If you fall, you'll learn. Embrace not knowing. And live in the moment—soon you'll be graduating and you'll wonder where the time went. Keep in touch with the people you care about: Instagram, Facebook and texting are all there for a reason.

Here's to you, Witt.