Slowly slithering out of the holes that they have formed in the wall, the tacks fall in a domino effect one by one. Left is a space where once a poster of Death Cab for Cutie marked its claim of property. A remake of The Great Wave off Kanagawa poster, alongside a graffiti print of the pyramids with volkswagen gone. Glaring back at me are the polaroids of past memories, torn from the peace sign formation they had laid in so comfortably. Quotes of inspiration and remembrance to keep pushing forward disappeared. An orange ombre canvas I adore painted by my oldest friend, who is practically a sister to me, taken down. The poster that hung above me, watching over me at night, along with a rainbow array of threads that conjured into a dreamcatcher, now in a box. Firefly lights that framed the four edges of the window with a wanderlust glow wrapped taught and stored away.

My ever changing color iHome reads 5:33pm on a Thursday afternoon. The last thursday night here at college before finals week. A bittersweet breath fills the capacity of my lungs as I inhale. All the things that marked this space as mine half packed up into 16x16 cardboard boxes. Boxes that are filled to the rim with not only objects, but parts of me. That mug I made two months ago when my mom came to visit for a weekend. That frisbee I got the first week of school that I have never used, but still hold onto for keepsakes. A box crammed with all the extra tea bags I couldn’t complete in my caffeine cravings. My magnetic poetry kit I stayed up countless nights of the week forming nonsense abstract pieces on my mini fridge, as my roommate and I laughed at the gibber jabber I like to call art. The poor water bottles I abused with stickers time after time, until I found ones that spoke to me and felt ‘right’.

These items, as insignificant as they may be to the person next to me, have a place in my heart. They are the epitome of my freshman year at college. They have made this room and campus a home away from home. That is why in the moments I have left I have to say some of the hardest temporary goodbyes. Having my heart in two states pulls some strings inside me that are indescribable. I have built a support system of friends who I feel that I can call family, which is truly a special bond.

As the months passed by in a blink of an eye, just like my water bottles, my laptop became marked. It originally entered college just like me; blank. One by one, a sticker would find its way onto my case leaving a trace of my personality. The personal growth occurring was evident from an outer point of view, but for me, I had to step back to see my progress at hand and I was genuinely proud.

It is in the last countdown of hours in the 80310 I reflect on the past nine months here that make me appreciate life even more. I could not be more thankful for the people who have stuck by my side through the peaks and troughs that college throws at us. Until I return, for the next three months, my dreams will be consumed with the Flatirons that make my heart skip a beat with their stunning existence. As one curtain closes, another one opens up to yet another chapter of my book of life.