I am a freshman in college who just finished the first semester of college classes and I am devastated. I’m already thinking about the end when I know this is only the beginning.

You know how people said, “Enjoy college because it goes by too fast,” and you were like, ‘Ok Uncle Bob, I get you were stud in college, let it go’? Your Uncle Bob wasn’t kidding. It really does go by too fast.

I get that as a freshman, a lot of older students won’t think that I know what I’m talking about because I’ve only been here one semester. How can I know I’m going to miss something when I still have more than three years left? However, in the four months that I’ve been here, I’ve had more fun than the past four years I spent in high school. I’ve shown my roommate hundreds of Buzzfeed videos, played card games 'til two in the morning with my suitemates, joined clubs that truly interest me, gone through the rush process and met some amazing girls along the way, joined a sorority, bonded with my sisters, met some of my future bridesmaids, taken road trips to visit friends, eaten way too much ice cream, Cookout, and popcorn, gone to some awesome mixers, gone to some not so awesome mixers, tailgated, cheered on the Pack at football games, been to both libraries, skipped only a few classes, and am currently procrastinating studying for finals.

Laying here in my bed with countless canvases on the walls, the teddy bear my Big gave me, and a mini Christmas tree fully decorated and lit on a dresser beside me, I’ve finally realized that this is my home. Three and a half years left doesn’t seem like enough.

I know that I’ll never truly leave. I can come back to games, alumni events, and keep up with friends, but it will never be the same as it is now. After this year, I will never be in a dorm again- which is more positive than negative, but it’s still a college experience. I just can’t help but get sentimental at the end of this semester. Going to college is scary, but now that I’m here, leaving college is even scarier. Becoming an adult after spending four years in a place where going to bed at eleven is considered “early” seems impossible. However, I know I’ll spend the next three and a half years figuring it out with the love and support of my college family.

I can’t wait to see what the next eighth holds.