Freshman Year of College – Check!

I just finished my last final of the semester…and that means I am officially done with my freshman year of college! (WHAT?!) I can’t even believe I am writing these words right now. It seems like only yesterday I was moving everything into my dorm room, raising my bed, unpacking my suitcases, and meeting Hannah and Natalie for the first time. And here I am, today, packing up my suitcases, moving out of my dorm room, and saying goodbye to Hannah, Natalie, and my other friends I have made over the year.

My first year of college went better than I could have ever expected. I had some of the best professors (I’m convinced) in the world and I really have learned so much. I thought I wouldn’t like having to live with someone in such a small room, and now at the end of the year I am a bit sad I won’t have Hannah with me in my room for the next four months! And I changed in some ways a bit and in some ways quite big. I used to hate having cereal at home (just wasn’t my favorite), but now it’s surprisingly a meal of choice. I admit I didn’t used to make my bed every morning when I lived at home (sorry Mom!), but I have made my bed every morning in college. I used to be a maniac about studying and grades, and now while grades are still very important to me, I understand that there are more important things in life to cherish. And that is my family and friends and making memories. Because that is what I will look back on ten years down the road when I think of my freshman year of college – not the grade I got on a particular final exam. And I know without enrolling in Tom Shadyac’s class during this Freshman Year, I would still be acting as if my academics were more of a priority than my family and friends were, even though I believed the opposite. That one shift in how I live my life has totally changed me into a much happier and less-stressed-out person. I am so happy and grateful for that and everything else that I have experienced in my first year of college.

Even though leaving this gorgeous view and my sweet friends is tough, I am so ready for a few months without studying, without tests, and without papers. I am so ready to see my family. I am so ready to see Colin. I am so ready to see my friends from Georgia. I am so ready to get to work at Milly & Grace! I am so ready for non-caf food. I am so ready for my own shower. I am so ready for my bed. I am so ready to read books on my “to read” list. I am just so ready for summer! And it is here!!