To The Senior Teammate,

The time has finally come and I’m sure you’ve been waiting for it. You are graduating. From college. From all the homework and stress. From the limited parking spots. From all the bad professors. And that is wonderful.

But you are also graduating from the sport you love. From golf. From your team that you’ve been on for four years. From the house you live in now. From the routine drive to school and practice that you are so used to. You are also graduating from me.

I know we have only known each other for two years now, but you have impacted my life in more ways than you can imagine. You are not just a teammate and a friend, you are a role model. You may not speak up or voice your opinion much, but that does not mean you are not a leader. You lead by example. The world is changed by examples and actions, not by opinions. I look up to you (literally) and I’m so thankful to have someone like you to share secrets with. I’m sure you get tired of me constantly telling you about my life problems, but you always welcome my stories. You listen with the intent to understand and give me advice, not to just reply. You keep my secrets safe too. I can’t tell you how many secrets you know that no one else knows. I trust you with so much.

You have always been there for me through the rough times - my heartbreaks, failing grades, mental breakdowns, bad golf scores…

But you have also been there for me during the good times - endless laughter when we play a round together, randomly matching, taking pictures and looking like sisters, Halloween last year when you dressed up for practice…

I never imagined that we would get so close so fast.

Now that we are coming upon graduation, it's safe to say that senior year is the year for tears and facing fears. You are getting ready to take your first official steps into adulthood outside of college life, and I’m sure you’re full of butterflies and excitement, but also a little bit of sadness. You are leaving a school that you know so well and where you are loved by so many. It’s like high school all over again.

As the time comes closer to watching you walk across the stage to get your diploma, I would just like to say that I am going to miss you. Not the type of “bye pal! Love you so much and we will have to hang out soon“ miss you. I will genuinely miss you because even though we didn’t hang out all the time or do everything together, we still knew everything going on in each others lives. You are the older sister I never had and never even knew I wanted, but God knew I needed you. He will be there with you- where he guides, he will provide. No matter where you go in life, remember how loved you are.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1^st Timothy 4:12 ESV).

Thanks for being you.

Love,

Your teammates

**Shoutout to @JNeuzz for their help with this article.