In approximately ten weeks, I'll be walking across a stage set up in my university's basketball court and shaking hands with some of the people responsible for the five years of tuition hikes, construction projects, and terrible parking.

It's easy to make fun of the university and city I've been living in since August 2012. It's easy to complain about the cost and the limited parking and the weird sidewalk patterns. But as much complaining and ranting I've done with my peers, I can't deny that some of the best experiences I'll probably ever have, have also happened here.

I'm excited to be graduating and beginning a new chapter, but I'm also saddened that I only have a few weeks left on this campus. I've sat in the stands of numerous basketball and volleyball games, cheering on my peers and friends. I've traveled to watch our hockey team win a regional championship. I've watched our football team break many records over several seasons, and then enjoy the excitement of seeing some of those players get a shot at playing in the NFL, a semi-rare occurrence for a Division II school.

I've attended free concerts and comedy shows. I've watched theatre productions and admired the acting skills of close friends. I participated in the band for a year and got to be a part of my own concerts. I joined a campus ministry and met some of the nicest people I could've ever hoped to know and hope to continue to know even long after we've all left this town.

I have a job I'm upset to be leaving because the coworkers I've had over the years have become my closest friends and hopefully the people I will continue to talk and laugh with for the years to come. This job has also led to promotions and opportunities working special events where I've met hundreds of new people and got to mingle with other cultures. A job I've enjoyed so much that I honestly don't understand the people who hate it and do their best to find a different one and quit so quickly.

My program has provided me with several opportunities and experiences related to my career that five years ago I never would have imagined. It makes it all worth the stress and the cramming and the deadlines. And so will my career once I receive that glorious piece of paper: "Bachelor of Science."

It's taking me a semester longer to finish school than I had planned to. And although it had frustrated me at first, I am now grateful than I was given an extra fifteen weeks to relish in everything college has offered me. The difficult classes, unfair professors, horrible schedules, and lack of sleep seem worth it in comparison to everything I've been able to experience. It's hard to explain the number of opportunities I've had and it's even harder to express my gratitude in five-hundred words.

I may have spent the past four-and-a-half years cracking jokes and complaining about the inconveniences of my campus and college in general, blaming the administrators and professors. But I also have them to thank. My university experience has shaped who I am and everything I will become. I learned a lot about the content and career options in my field. But I also learned a lot about myself. And that's more valuable than anything else college could have offered me.