I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe that our time together has come to an end. It’s been 4 years but it feels like move-in day of August 2011 was yesterday. We’ve had our ups and downs, our celebrations and our fights, yet we have stayed together through it all.
Freshman year was amazing. From becoming a sorority sister to joining cool clubs, to parties on Frat Row and late night conversations in the dorms, the year had very few letdowns. Of course you delivered your fair share of drama but somehow I always got through it then. Then summer came, the dream first year ended, and it was back home to the lazy days on the couch and parental control.
The following Fall you truly taught me the meaning of the Sophomore Slump. College life got a little tougher. Old friendships became a little rocky while new ones blossomed , and my GPA wasn’t near the level I found acceptable. That Fall you were far from kind to me, and as a result we had to take some time apart in the Spring. While I didn’t miss the lectures, projects, and tests, I missed your sunsets. Your food. Your natural beauty. And it didn’t take me much to be pulled back to the plains at the end of the Summer.
And so Junior Year began, bringing with it more challenges than I ever thought imaginable. Curveballs were thrown in every direction, but you never let me go. We made it through the drama of friendships and faux-relationships, the struggle of literature theory courses, and the changes that approach with impending adulthood. I began to truly find myself, and somehow, by the grace of God, we ended the year with poise.
I wasn’t prepared for how fast Senior Year has flown by. Final classes, senior sorority events, amazing nights out, and even better memories. You most definitely saved the best for last, Auburn. I’ve seen my friends find happiness in their relationships, career choices, and their paths in life. Surprisingly, after all the forks in my collegiate road, I’ve found the same.
Thank you, Auburn, for teaching me what it means to be an articulate scholar. Thank you for teaching me for what it means to be true to myself, and in that same vein, thank you for helping me find myself. The last four years haven’t always been easy, but I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. I’ve found my best friends, an amazing boyfriend, and my passion in life. I came to Auburn University prepared to become the woman I had envisioned. I’m leaving an Auburn Woman who is completely sure of herself, the image very different from the one I had four years ago, but a more beautiful one than I pictured.
Thank you, Auburn, for teaching me the most valuable lesson I have ever learned: life isn’t easy, and sometimes you don’t get the break you desperately want. But everything happens for a reason. Take a breath, appreciate life, and you will get through it. And on the other side there will be so many rewards for your hard work. I truly have a spirit that is not afraid, thanks to my time at Auburn. I love my school, my mind, my life, and who I am. And because Auburn men and women believe these things, I believe in Auburn, and love it