When I packed up my mom's car with suitcases, boxes, and ambitions, I had no idea that I would be lucky enough to meet you. Being a college freshman meant that it was inevitable to feel a little nervous about meeting new people, but I was beyond scared about finding anyone that was crazy enough to be my friend. I would have been satisfied with finding just one person that I could hang out with, but fate had something better in store for me.

We all met within the first week of school. The combination of eight college freshmen desperate to find some sort of companionship made the connections to each other that much stronger, almost instantly. Before we knew it, we were telling each other secrets, sleeping on each other's floors, and stealing couches from the lounge on the floor above us. We've spent nine months practically on top of each other, breathing the same air, eating the same food, wasting the same time and avoiding the same responsibilities. There are a lot of things I have to thank you all for over the course of this year.

1. Thank you for being dorks like me.

Half the time, our conversations are just recitations of Spongebob episodes. We have two community razor scooters in my bedroom that get more mileage in the residence hall than on the sidewalk. Within the first week of knowing each other, we came up with crazy nicknames for each other: Kim Possible, T Swizzle, Tyle, Doug, Struggle Bus, Sim, What, Kurnina, Alpha Chloe, and more. We came up with Operation Minty Hippo, where we stole a couch from the third floor lounge and brought it down to the empty second floor lounge, wearing all black in the process. We dragged all of our mattresses into the lounge and had a huge sleepover, where we watched old disney movies and shared blankets and pillows. We even have fun when there's a fire drill at two in the morning, making jokes, sneaking into other residence halls, and being louder than we think possible.

2. Thank you for staying strong through the drama.

You've all been there longer than my last five relationships combined, and I think that's something to say about loyalty. You've celebrated new beginnings thoroughly and been the ones to say the hard stuff when nobody else wanted to. You've been there through the wet socks, the scraped knees, the broken hearts, and the heated moments. You've held me back from my reckless ways and supported me when you know I need to do something. You've challenged me, stuck by me, or just stayed as a silent supporter. You've handled even the craziest parts of our friend group, and I couldn't have asked for more because you continued to exceed my expectations time and time again.

3. Thank you for being spontaneous.

Nobody else will motivate me to go to the gym on ten minutes' notice. Nobody else would go to a campus event just for the pizza, then proceed to steal three boxes of pizza upon arrival. We regularly stayed up until everybody was done with their homework. Of course, homework took three times as long because we were all goofing around and going off on every tangent possible. You took too many selfies on my phone without me knowing. You threw up gang symbols at the most random times: in photos, around campus, no matter what was happening, there was someone bringing the crazy out in all of us. Sometimes, we skipped class for each other; more importantly, we were always there for complaints and whining. Sometimes, we played makeover, straightening curly hair, curling straight hair, or putting eyeliner on literally everyone. We caught each other in the most random moments, the most embarrassing times, the best stories. We spent every waking moment together and still made it all memorable.

4. Thank you for going with the flow.

We soon realized that weird things were bound to happen to us no matter what we did, what time it was, or where we went. You learned to just shrug it off, say "alrighty then," and laugh about it later. We heard strange things like being proud of surviving abortion. We satisfied the worst of cravings at the oddest hours. We saw the strangest outfits and purchased them just for the randomness. No matter what, you just made it work and rolled with all the punches.

5. Thank you for helping me survive.

And not only did you make this year a little more bearable, but you also made it more memorable than I thought possible. Together, we seized every moment, silenced every hater, and made it through every obstacle, every setback, every bad day. You were always there to give me a hug, keep it real, and give my ex boyfriends dirty looks, and I love you for that. I can't even begin to think of all the late nights, long walks, loud moments, and crazy ideas, but I know that I wouldn't have even liked this year without you all to keep me somewhat sane. Thank you for making me laugh until I threw up, calling me out when I needed it, keeping everything a little unpredictable, and accepting me through it all.

I love you all, and I can't wait to see what Sophomore year brings us.