When I first stepped foot onto my college campus I was terrified. I was scared of the classes, the professors, the unknown in general, but most importantly I was scared that I wasn’t going to make any friends. I was excited to get to meet people who were into the same things that I am and meet friends who had the same passions that I do.

What I got wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but it is so much more than I could ever ask for. So to those friends who just happened to pick the same university as me, this one is for you.

It’s only been 9 months since we all entered each other’s lives. Can you believe it? It feels like we’ve spent a lifetime together. We’ve laughed and cried and every one of those moments has been cherished.

Each one of us has our own story and while some parts are easier to tell than others we have all been able to find that trust in one another to let ourselves be vulnerable and to let each other get to know who we really are. We have gone on adventures that required road trips 3 hours long and we have sat in each other’s living rooms playing video games or cards. All of it has been a blast.

I didn’t expect to find friends like this when I came to college. I had friends at home who I had known forever and I expected the ones I met here to be just a phase that would hold me over until the school year ended and I was back in my hometown. Man, was I wrong!

Each one of the souls I have met and become friends with has touched my life in a different way and from the moment that I first encountered every one of you I knew that you were something special.

I am honored to get to say that I have found a family in college. A family that supports me and accepts me for who I am, that protects me from others and from myself. I have found a family that I will miss dearly when

I’m away and I cannot wait to get to catch up in the fall. We’re all about to go our separate ways and take on new adventures for a few months, but don’t worry. We’ll be back soon enough and the adventures will pick up where we left off. So thank you, for being nothing like I expected, but exactly what I wanted.