As I gathered the last of my belongings, it felt as though the world was ending when I came to the realization that for the next few months, my best friends would no longer live just a few doors down. It’ll no longer be acceptable to go out every night on the weekends, and it most definitely won’t be acceptable to stroll into my house the same way (or time) I was used to all year.

Although it was a relief for the stress of finals week to be lifted off my back, the thought of leaving the place that has become my home began to settle with me. The year flew by, and in just a matter of months, I crafted special friendships, some of which were a lot different than the bonds I had with my friends from high school. While I was ready to take my first shoeless shower and sleep in my own bed, I was not at all prepared for the emotional response I was to have minutes before exiting my freshman year of college.

So I cried. And cried. And cried some more. My emotions were bouncing off the walls, and it was a feeling I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before. Having said that, it made it very hard to feel excited about returning to the place where I grew up.

As I waltzed into my room which had previously housed me for 18 years, the walls were bare and boring. This made me feel as though the walls were an analogy for what my summer would look like. I began to unload the contents of my enormous suitcases, and I sulked while sitting on the hardwood floor which hurt my bottom.

Among the tall stack of boxes, I found the one which had all of my wall decorations and photos, and started to pin them up one by one. Piece by piece, my room at home began to remind me more and more of my room at college, and the bits of my broken heart began to come together. I tacked down photos of some of my greatest memories with my new friends, those of whom were no more than strangers to me until about nine months ago.

After a few short hours, my once naked and dull room was now filled with life, as shown through posters of my favorite bands, my favorite pieces of writing, and notes from the girls who I now consider my best friends.

All of the pieces of myself which I had discovered throughout the year were now displayed on each of my four walls. In just one year, I had changed and developed into an entirely different person, and all the new “things” hanging on my walls made me realize that.

Although it was only a matter of months, I can honestly say that I feel more wholistic as a person and I’m looking forward to learning even more about myself during the next three years. With each new discovery, I’ll just have to pin another “thing” on my very crowded wall.