To The Class of 2020,

What a ride it's been. 4 years of learning. 4 years of finding ourselves. 4 years of ups, downs, and everywhere in between. I can't even begin to explain what college has taught me.

This is a really hard time for everyone. It hits a little extra hard as a senior, though, whether it be high school or college. We all thought we had 2 more months to live it up, party hard, and soak in all of the "lasts" with our classmates, friends, and roommates. The spring athletes were on their way to one final season ahead of the sport they love.. one more championship. And now they probably won't play competitively ever again. My heart breaks for you all.

Having campus close without warning and our semester cut short is a huge slap in the face. It hurts bad. But it's a reminder that not everything is promised. Things can be taken away from us in the blink of an eye, and we shouldn't take them for granted. Sometimes you don't realize what you had until it's gone, and this is one of those times.

But to shed some light on the situation, I'd like to reflect on the past 4 years as a college student, because there were a lot of good memories.

In 2016 we first walked on campus as wee little freshman that had absolutely no idea what the year ahead was going to bring. But, a lot happened that year, and here's a few things in case you forgot. Donald Trump jokes. Lots of them, from all political parties. Mostly about his orange skin or signature hair-do. The Mannequin challenge blew up social media. We mastered the water bottle flip. Harambe the Gorilla died and us young adults took it pretty hard. Rip.

In 2017, we were no longer the babies. We were sophomores. We were living in apartments and houses and using our fake IDs to get into the bars. By now almost every college girl had Birkenstock's, high top converse, and wore black jeans with a jean jacket. Fidget spinners were in and we made the "Catch me outside how bout dat" girl famous.

Junior year came along and we were upperclassmen again. Finally turning 21. Debatably the best year. Mo Bamba played at almost every bar. Juuls were no longer cool. We survived a polar vortex in the Midwest and scrunchies made a comeback.

And last but certainly not least, senior year. The end was in sight. We had made some pretty good friends that would last a lifetime. We felt old because we were no longer the ones setting the trends and weren't VSCO girls or TikTok stars. It was a year of seltzer's and "no laws drinking claws".

But then this virus came around and shortened our time together. No graduation. No time to say goodbye. No time to enjoy our "lasts". A very bitter end to what was supposed to be bittersweet. And I'm only beginning to process that this is truly the end.

So to the people I've met over the past 4 years. Thank you. There are so many of you I crossed paths with that helped make me into the person I am today. I couldn't have done it without you. To the professors I won't get a chance to thank in person, thank you. Thank you for giving me a high quality education, challenging me as a student, and seeing my true potential. Thank you to my friends and family that supported me along the way. I'd love nothing more than for you to watch me walk across that stage with my diploma, but I know you're proud of me regardless.

Remember, we're all in this together, and we have to stay tough. Thank you for the memories, and congrats to the Class of 2020.❤️