There is nothing more important your first year of college than your freshman year dorm. I am so grateful for the friends and memories I have made in my freshman year dorm. From the early mornings to the late nights, we've been through so much in this building and I am so grateful for it.

I love the freshman dorms for many reasons, but here are just a few:

1. Everyone is here... all the time.

For the most part, all freshman live in East Halls at Penn State with a few exceptions. But when you meet friends in classes or at New Student Orientation most of those people will end up living within 100 feet of your dorm. You will never have to worry about eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner alone ever. If you want to study with your friends, you're bound to find a study room in East and be together all night long for those annoying gen ed exams.

2. You're never alone.

I made amazing friends on my floor, which I was really lucky to have. But that being said, even after the dinner and studying with other friends, I got to come home and be surrounded by even more friends. Some nights we'd stay up and talk for hours and hours about life and the future. Half the time the conversations would go in circles and before you knew it would be 12 A.M. and you had an 8 A.M. the next day, but all those nights were so worth it. They made freshman year so special and I am so grateful for my 6th-floor crew.

3. You grow up so much.

"If only these walls could talk" couldn't be more appropriate for this situation. I wonder all the time about all the people that made my dorm their home throughout the past 50 years. Did they love it as much as we did? Did they sleep on my side or my roommate's side? What classes did they take? Who are they now? These dorms, as gross as they are, have so much history, and I am so lucky to have been apart of it and to be here for the first year of living on my own, away from home.

4. It teaches you how to conserve space and make room for doubling your wardrobe.

I never realized how many hangers you can fit in one tiny closet if you really really try. You 100% don't need that 500th Penn State sweatshirt, but you should 100% get it anyway, you will find a way to make it fit in the shoebox.

5. It makes you realize, this box really is home.

I never ever thought I'd be sad to leave the little tiny shoebox of a room. I cried when my parents dropped me off thinking how was this going to be my life, how was I going to sleep in my kitchen next to my fridge and living room and closet all in one. Slowly but surely we molded our shoebox into a comfy home. And now tomorrow my parents are going to have to drag me out of this shoebox, tears and all because it has been my home for the last nine months.

Thank you, East Halls.