"Your four years of college are going to go by in a blink of an eye."

I cannot tell you how many times I heard that from when I graduated high school to when I left my driveway to embark on my freshman year of college.

I always knew college would fly by, but I did not expect it to go as fast as it has. Seriously, where has the time gone?

Since August, I have slowly felt myself starting to accept that this is the last fall semester of college. In two short months, I will be coming back here for the last time for my spring semester.

This semester has been great, as they all have in the past. I love my school, my friends, my major, my sorority. This place is my home.

I think just knowing that in half a year, I have to grow up. I have to be responsible. I have to get a real job and get my life together. I have to leave this little bubble of college that has let me be independent but still slightly dependent.

I went from being a carefree freshman, where my biggest concern was what elective to take next semester. Now, I am thinking about applying for jobs, perfecting my resume, making sure my capstone project is pristine.

As sad as it will be to leave this place that has grown to be a part of who I am, I know that it has to end at some point.

Knowing that I will be experiencing all of my "lasts," makes them mean so much more than they have in the past.

As excited as I am for the future, and as prepared as I think Washington State has made me for that future. I am terrified.

What if I can't find a job after graduation, meaning I have to work my old minimum wage job? What if I cannot afford to live on my own, and am forced to move back in with my parents?

None of that is bad, but it just isn't a part of my plan. I never want to move backward, I only want to move forward. It terrifies me that I may be forced to move backward, after working so hard these past four years.

Student debt, the economy, the job market, none of it is ideal for us who are graduating.

As excited as I am for the future, and getting a job I am passionate about and starting a life of my own, what if it doesn't happen?

I know that it will all work out, but the fear of the unknown is what I am most afraid of.

Leaving this safe place that I am so familiar with, leaving my routine, my everyday life. The life I have made for myself for the last four years. Leaving all of that and attempting to start a new life completely from scratch, what is scarier than that?

I guess that is what makes life so exciting. Not knowing where you will end up. Not knowing what the future holds, not knowing if your plans will work out.

I guess that is why they say to never make plans because life doesn't care about your plans.

As scary as it is to leave the familiar, it is pretty exciting not knowing where you might end up.

I love this little town in the middle of nowhere, but I am excited to start a new life after college.