I’ve been waiting to write this goodbye since I started in The Outlook as a freshman, so you’d think that I would have had some idea of how to start this by now. I honestly have no words of wisdom, no great advice, and nothing inspirational to share with anyone bored enough to read through this whole thing.
I do, however, have a lot of people to thank for making my time at college everything that it was, so I won’t waste any time getting to the point.
Mom and Dad, I don’t even know where to start. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn, live, and grow at a place as beautiful as Monmouth. Thank you for allowing me to travel the world and experience life in a way that I never thought possible. Thank you for showing me unconditional love and support, even after you figured out that me moving back home after graduation is not what I would consider to be an ideal situation. You both have given me literally everything I could ever ask for and then some, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you.
To Morgan, my little sister – the person that I love the most in this world – thank you for always being my cheerleader, my rock, my best friend. You inspire me every day to be a better version of myself and I truly could not imagine my life without you. I am eternally grateful that you chose Monmouth, not just because you always let me steal your meal swipes, but because being able to watch you grow during your first year here has been the ultimate treat. You make me proud always.
Hayley and Gracie, my fellow Space Cadets, I’m usually afraid of how similarly all three of our brains seem to function, but I honestly don’t think I could have ever asked for better friends. Thank you for always worrying about my health and safety after spending almost 20 hours on campus, and especially for wordlessly handing me a spoon and a jar of Nutella when I had a mental breakdown in the middle of our kitchen floor. I’m thankful to have found people who share my affinity for the Universe, fake babies, and spontaneous tattoos. Condragulations on being two of the best people I have ever known, I’ll see you both on the runway. Xoxo.
Chandler, thank you for sharing my serious fear of crickets and other bugs, and for making me feel a little less alone in our half of the continent that is our house. I also still feel like my music is usually too loud, so thank you for pretending like it’s not.
MK, Mary Kate, Mary, whatever your name is – a million thank yous for allowing me to befriend World Peace and make your bed my own. To think that we didn’t know each other a little over a year ago is both #rude and #offensive to me, so thank you for being such an amazing human being and friend. Thank you for also camping out in the student center and crying over unattainable men with me, and thank you, thank you, thank you for that one time in Amsterdam. Much love, Ron, Ronnie, Ronald, E-Girl.
To the girls of Norgrove (and Alex and Danielle), sorry I never paid any rent, but thank you for allowing me to make some of my best college memories under your roof. I would also apologize for low key infiltrating your friend group, but for that I’m not sorry at all.
My BiTcHe$ & H03$, I still don’t know how we were all lucky enough to find each other, but no words can properly express how glad I am that we did. My time abroad would have been nothing without any of you. Thank you for laughing at the same memes as me, for always being in the mood to reminisce about the Fall of 2014, and for crying with me over the memories we created during the four months that London was our home. If it was at all possible in literally any way, I would spend the rest of my life traveling and exploring the world with you all, even if it meant having to eat green curry from the refectory for every meal.
Krar, thank you for sharing my infinite love of tall men and Taco Bell. I also really like hugging you. Krispiy7, I’m so grateful to be able to call someone with such a beautiful soul my friend. Thanks for the Snapchats. FJPSalvatore, thank you for always reporting my Instagram pictures and never giving me a friends and family discount on your t-shirts. Sam, thank you for always making me laugh, especially in the horrible, horrible class that we have to sit through together. Vin, thank you for being the first to call me Ron; you started a movement. Stephanie, I sometimes am afraid of how much I love you. Thank you for being alive.
To Alpha Omicron Pi, thank you. I’m not sure if any other words are necessary because if I am certain about anything at all, it is that joining this organization was one of the best decisions of my college career. Erin circa 2009 would have laughed if you told her that she would help colonize a chapter of a sorority as a freshman in college, but Erin circa 2016 would say that it was that chapter that made her experience at Monmouth so unforgettable.
Alyssa, I cannot believe that there was a time in either of our lives when we weren’t friends. I am so grateful to have found you and I’m even more grateful that you stuck around after learning about how much of a train wreck I am. Thank you for always listening to my stories, no matter how silly or boring they are, and for consistently reassuring me that neither of us will end up alone. I am so lucky to be able to call someone as beautiful and genuine as you a best friend and a sister. You deserve the world.
ARB and Yeast, thank you for always, without fail, putting a smile on my face. My heart is so full of love for the both of you.
To my Trash Fam, Macie and Amanda, I feel blessed to be related to piles of human garbage as classy, genuine, and unique as you two ladies. You both are truly two of my favorite people and I’m thankful every day that AOII brought us together. I know you’ll keep the family name alive after I leave, but I’ll say it anyway: stay trashy.
My fellow Student Ambassadors, thanks for making my job a little more fun. I wouldn’t have wanted to wear matching ugly blue polos with anyone else.
To Maggie and Brett, my biggest fans, Co-Presidents of the I Love Erin Club, and two of the best humans to ever walk the earth – I love you. Thank you for liking me more than I sometimes like myself; it is both an honor and a privilege to be the object of your affection.
To The Outlook and all of the editors that I’ve ever worked with, thank you for allowing me to do what I love for the past four years. I will always be grateful for everything that this paper has given me, even if it made me sometimes lose my mind on Mondays and Tuesdays. This office and the people in it have seen me at my worst, so I thank you all for continuing to (hopefully) view me as a sane and morally sound human being.
Lastly, to Monmouth University, thank you for giving me the best four years of my life. My time at this school has impacted me more than I ever thought possible and I know that I’ll never have experiences anywhere else like the ones I’ve had here. The thought of having to leave this place in a month makes my heart hurt, but in the end, I’m just glad to have been given the opportunity to call myself a Hawk.
I would say that it’s funny how quickly time moves, but it’s honestly not something that I’m laughing about. Everyone told me how fast my college years would go by, that I should cherish every moment and experience everything I can while I can, but nobody told me how much it would hurt when I began to realize that only three weeks separate me from adulthood and alum status.
Although it’s a terribly sad time for me and so many other graduating seniors, I can’t help but look back on the memories I’ve made and the people I’ve met over the years with a smile. My heart is so full of love and gratitude for all that my college experience has offered me that I think I’m almost, almost, ready to let go and start the next chapter of my life.
For now, though, in these final days of the best times of my life (this far, at least), I’m perfectly content with pretending that I won’t be walking across stage and into The Real World™ in just a few weeks.
