At the end of the finale for Alex Hirsch’s cartoon, "Gravity Falls," I quickly opened up a Word document, ready to organize and write out my thoughts, but found that I could not write out a word. For the past four years, "Gravity Falls" has been my go-to show for any occasion. It was exciting, funny, mysterious, and most of all, raw.

Watching the show’s finale was a ride that left me utterly satisfied. Alex Hirsch had a perfect blend of action, drama, humor, and emotion that is extremely difficult to achieve when finishing a show. But when the last few minutes of the episode came, and early dawn rose to the scene of a bus, it hit. Despite all the amazing qualities of this cartoon, down to the core, it is simply a show about family, and for the past four years, the Pines family has been one of my own.

Never has a cartoon been so bittersweet to say goodbye to for me. Unlike previous summer shows such as "Phineas and Ferb," that leave the characters underdeveloped in an endless cycle of summer days, Dipper and Mabel’s adventure is over. As they’re driving away on the bus, leaving Gravity Falls behind, Dipper opens up a letter given by Wendy that simply reads, “See you next summer,” and I utterly wept.

"Gravity Falls" began in 2012, when I had just begun college, and has now ended in 2016, as my own college career is coming to an end, just as the Pines family’s summer had. "Gravity Falls," to put it simply, gave me, and millions of other fans, their childhood and summer wonder back. Dipper reminded us to always be curious and dorky while Mabel is a role model of optimism and wonder. Grunkle Stan, whose love and devotion was to his family, will always stay with us.

Alex Hirsch states that, essentially, “Gravity Falls is a show about characters.” I had forgotten just how it was to be completely connected to a cartoon, when I had blinked and my childhood was over, but "Gravity Falls" brought back my wonder, fun, curiosity, passion, and, to put it simply, my absolute love of cartoons. Fans are reacting just as strongly as I am, with endless amounts of fan art illustrating the bitter sadness at having our four-year summer in Gravity Falls end:

While there are other cartoons nowadays, and from my childhood, that still are special to me, the Pines family are my extended family:

But just because summer is over, doesn’t mean that adventure, mystery, and family end. Alex Hirsch took us on a grand journey to Gravity Falls, but just as it is the twins' time to figure out who they are in high school, it is our time to finish college, and find our own battles and mystery in the real world. While it sounds scary, and believe me, it is, the people and creators of "Gravity Falls" left us with something special to help us along. All I can say is, “See you next summer.”