Dear Future Occupants of My Freshman Dorm Room,

It seems surreal to be writing you this letter, I can never really imagine anyone else living in this room but myself. In fact, nobody else really has ever lived in this room except for my roommates and myself. My brand new, just built dorm belonged 100% to us. But, the time has come to move out of this room and leave all of the precious moments along with it.

So, new occupants of Room 401A, here are a few things I would like you to know: please cherish the moments that you get to spend in this room. It has become such an incredibly special place to us. This room will become your home away from home for the next year. Even though it doesn't seem like it now, when the time comes to leave, you will want to stay forever.

This room is the place that has held all of my firsts of freshman year. It is the place we all got ready for our first party. Where we prepared for our first day of classes, where we picked out the perfect outfit for our sorority dance. It's where we shared our late night laughs, and it's where we have studied for hours late at night.

What you may first see as flaws, hold our greatest memories. The chunk of paint missing on the back wall is from the canvas hung the first semester, moved in January as we redecorated the room. The scuff by the closet is from the rolling chair running into the wall as we tried to hang a birthday banner. The tape stuck to the ceiling is from Halloween, where we hung the spider web. The mark on the floor is from moving the desk after we moved furniture for the third time this year.

The mark against the lower wall is from the trampoline we thought was so clever to keep in the dorm. I can almost guarantee there are marks on the ceiling of Room 301 from them banging to quiet us. The water stains on the floor are from our house plant that was never watered correctly.

You are so incredibly blessed to be residents of this beautiful room. You have your very own vanity, your very own showers. You have an ample amount of space and wonderful people to share it with. But, it is not the space you should be thankful for. It is the priceless memories that will be made there.

Please take care of the room. Decorate it like crazy, I'm sure those walls are missing all of our canvases and stickers right about now. Cherish your moments here. Take pictures of everything. Take care of your home away from home, it's yours now.

Sincerely,

The First Ever Resident of Room 401A