While growing up, I always heard people say "college is the best four years of your life". You make friends that’ll last a lifetime, you make memories that you’ll never forget and you make mistakes that’ll help guide you to become the amazing person that you were made to be. When it came time to leave my little town and make my way to college, I just didn’t know what to think. Were they being serious? How do you make those great friendships and memories? How does all of that happen in just four short years? As I’m sitting here, I came to the conclusion that they were so right, and I couldn’t have been more thankful.

Thinking back, its crazy to think that such amazing friendships can be created by just walking into each other’s dorm rooms and saying hello. As our college years are winding down, and our friendships just get greater, I just really want to let you know how thankful I am that I met you.

Thank you for accepting me for me. Instead of judging me on my weirdness, you accept it and act just as weird. Out of 36,001 students freshman year, you decided to be friends with me and I couldn't be more thankful. You’ve seen me at my highs and lows and are still somehow friends with me.

Thank you for always listening. You’ve heard me complain about things that you have no idea what they really are, but yet you are still there for me whenever I really need you.

Thank you for accepting my hometown friends as yours. Nothing is better than knowing that friends from two different parts of my life can get along and keep helping me grow as a better person.

Thank you for the late night shenanigans. Whether its all-nighters for finals week, random movie nights or the late nights out on the weekends, thanks for helping me create amazing memories that I can’t wait to tell my future kids about.

Thank you for making me miss being at school. Without you, school would just be school. Knowing that I have amazing friends like you makes the thought of taking 18 credits fun.

Thank you for being such great friends that being home for break is almost miserable without you. Being away for a weekend is bad enough, but then knowing that we are hundred of miles away for three weeks makes life a little hard.

As I sit back and think about the memories I’ve made so far with amazing friends like you, I couldn’t be more thankful. College just wouldn’t be the same without you. So thank you for everything you’ve done for me, whether it is big or small.

Love,

A Forever Grateful Friend