As I look forward to beginning my senior year of college and that April graduation date looms closer, I've realized that part of the reason I am so content with my college experience is that I've checked off quite a few items on my college bucket list. Each of these things has helped contribute towards the best college experience I could possibly have.

1. Live on Campus.

Living in the residence halls means learning to live with people other than your siblings, it means figuring out that your roommate isn't mad at you just because she didn't respond to your early morning jabbering while you get ready. But, more than that, it allows you to build friendships that are unlike any other and know that you have shared experiences.

2. Take a Student Leadership Position.

I had the opportunity to serve as a resource for the incoming transfer students. Was it stressful at times? Yes. Did I sometimes feel like pulling out my own hair? Absolutely. Was it incredibly worth it in the end? Without a doubt. I got to connect with the new students and build relationships with my fellow leaders that are irreplaceable. Plus, sometimes you have to #EmbraceTheAwkward

3. Get a job.

I was fortunate enough to get a job on campus, and an extremely fun one at that. I get to work with some of the most amazingly fun people, I get to give direct input into events that happen on campus and sometimes I get to dress like it's the 1920's and pose by an old car.

4. Change my major.

I've heard that on average, college students today change their major eight times before they graduate and I always swore that would NEVER be me. I was going to be a kindergarten teacher, and that was that. Until I took a credentialing class, tried to teach a short lesson to some first graders and realized that while I loved working with kids, teaching was not the profession for me. After much deliberation and prayer, twenty minutes before the start of my first class for the semester, I changed to an English major. It's a much better fit for me, I'm loving my classes and I have had the opportunity to connect with a wonderful group of people through the English department.

5. Do something I never thought I would.

When a friend approached me and asked if I had any experience with Adobe InDesign, I never thought it would lead to the adventure it did. Three days after her seemingly innocent question, I found myself the layout editor for the school newspaper, The Simpson Slate. After a year with the editorial staff that included way too many Dutch Bros. drinks too late at night, many boxes of pizza and loads of late night giggles, I don't regret it one bit. Even if it wasn't part of my plan. Plus, being a part of the newspaper staff played a huge role in my decision to change majors.

6. Participate in Simpson-specific events.

Every school has events that are unique to them. Simpson University, my college of the past three years, has several such events. The two I have been privileged to participate in were Air Band, a lip-syncing competition where I got to be Ursula and a Muppet, and Exposure, a student film festival where I got to help direct a film and play the villain! All of which are memories I will treasure forever.

7. Road trip with friends.

When you have the option to cram three friends into a tiny Honda with luggage for a week (and the laundry you all want to do in a washer that doesn't require quarters), you always say yes. From singing random songs at the top of our lungs, to getting random truckers on the freeway to honk at us, to being in six inches of snow one day and on the beach then next, Spring Break trips with friends always come with their own special set of memories.

8. Spend time with people in my major.

Luckily for me, Simpson is small enough that a lot of the different departments will plan extracurricular activities, like driving to San Francisco for a weekend. Something about strange little hostels, learning to properly use chopsticks and running around San Francisco making pun after pun after pun with a group of students and faculty members from your department leaves you feeling pretty connected with the people around you. Besides, when else can you say that you and eleven other people drove a fleet of Volvos four hours away and spent several hours assessing the facial expressions of the people in the paintings at the museum you were at?

9. Experience the bittersweet.

When your best friend graduates without you and you get to be there at her Senior Banquet, that's something pretty special. Experiencing all of the bittersweet feelings as she packs up her stuff may lead to random emotional meltdowns where you cry in your room, wipe the mascara off your face and then run across the hall to hang out in her room, pretending you weren't just crying. Life can't just always be perfect. You won't always experience the ups. Sometimes, life throws you moments that are just utterly bittersweet and you have to roll with it. Even when you and your best friend now have an entire state between you.

10. Find my sense of goofy.

Luckily for me, I came from a household where goofiness was encouraged. Life is pretty boring if you can't accept the fact that all of us have a little goofy streak in us somewhere. Maybe you are a shower pop-star or you have dance parties in your car. Maybe you throw a sarcastic comment into conversations where it's sure to go over everyone's head. Whatever it is that lets your goofy side show through, embrace it. Because life's too short to always be serious.

11. Be adventurous.

I am 110% klutzy. I have had more injuries than my three siblings combined. So, sometimes being adventurous is scary for me. But, I've found that it's the days that I try something a little outside my comfort zone that make some of the best memories. And, it gives you the chance to show people that when they push you in the river, you WILL get payback, and it WILL be perfect.

12. Travel a little bit.

When my parents moved quite a distance away from my hometown and even farther away from my college, I learned to be less anxious about travel. A nine and a half hour jaunt down I-5 south into the heart of L.A. traffic? No sweat. This has given me the chance to experience things I never even thought about before. In the past year alone, I have seen Lake Tahoe for the first time, been to Huntington Beach, gone to Disneyland twice, explored Balboa Island, gone to San Diego, visited Reno, driven through snow to the beach, explored San Francisco thoroughly and done so many other things I never dreamed about.

13. Keep in touch with old friends.

Sometimes that means setting an alarm to make a Skype call at two in the morning because your friend is in Italy for three years and you can't go that long without talking to her. Sometimes it means meeting your unbiological nephew via Skype for the first six months of his life. It definitely means lots of frustration and missing people because they're away. But let me tell you something, the people who have stuck with you this long are likely to stick with you for life, and that moment when you finally see them in the airport because they're moving home means lots of grins, giggles and trying not to cry tears of joy at your reunion.

14. Take my life off hold.

While it IS important to keep in contact with those special few people, the temptation to put your college life on hold so that you don't come back a totally different person is absolutely real. In fact, I'm totally guilty of it. I spent the first semester at college completely homesick. The entire first year of college I spent too many weekends at home to count. Once I finally allowed myself to take my life off hold, I started loving my college experience more than I thought possible. I met one of my best friends in the entire world and got the chance to just do life with a bunch of really amazing people all of whom I cherish dearly.

15. Stay close with my family.

We get it. You're moving out and that means growing up. But being an adult doesn't mean you can't call your mom in tears when a boy breaks your heart, it doesn't mean you suddenly have to exist without the support system at home that you've lived your entire life with. It just means that now you have to do your part to make that a priority. You have to choose to drive across the entire state to see your parents (and, let's be real, your dog). You have to make the most of the precious moments you have with your family because they are no longer just the annoying housemates who leave messes and press your buttons.

So, as you finish your college years, or if you're just starting them, make it a point to look at the things you have done and the things you want to do. Make the most of these years, because you won't get them back.