I like to think of myself as a nostalgic individual, whether that be for the good times or the bad. When I took the image above, I had no idea I would be writing a thank you to a lounge in my first-year residence hall, but it only feels right considering it has given me so much. This, what you see pictured, was the view I would see of the world for hours each day, sitting and talking with my friends, doing seemingly minuscule things that when looking back defined our first-year college experience. This lounge was where a lot of my memories were made, so here's it's shout-out, from one graduated college freshman, to the many others that will sit in Tinsley's second-floor lounge.

Dear Tinsley Hall's second-floor lounge,

You were there for the late night study sessions, and you were there for the memories I was able to make with people who I will cherish forever. You were my first-year college experience. Thanks to you, I was able to really build community within my hall and floor. You were a meeting place for me and my friends, a place for me to do my work and studies while simultaneously laughing until I had the hiccups and couldn't feel the breath rushing so quickly out of my chest. You were a place for me to be myself, open up to my friends at four in the morning when others around us were asleep, a place for me to observe the outside world through a translucent screen, only guessing what passers-by stories were. You helped me to not feel alone as I transitioned to being a more independent adult.

I was seriously within your binds all the time, literally. They weren't kidding a freshman orientation when they said that we would be spending hours within our residence hall. Do you know how many times I was asked if I lived in your seats? All of the time I spent at Tinsley was basically with you. That's actually pretty cool when you think about it.

You saw me grow throughout my first year of college. As I sit in your green dyed chair, my feet leaned against your wood table writing this right now, in the present, I can't help but feel nostalgic about my first year at Rutgers. It is crazy to think about how many memories can be made in such a small area of such a big university in only a few short months. You allowed me to wave to friends as they came back into Tinsley, weathered down from the natural state that becomes a day, but you always allowed us to come together in the nights and enjoy each other's company.

Thank you for bringing people into my life that I will cherish forever, and thank you for giving me a community in such a large university.

You rock, dude, and I'll never forget you.