To my dearest Second Year of College,
Thank you, Second Year. You have been a trip. But all trips must come to an end.
You’ve taken me into my 20th year of life and through my last full year of ‘the college experience’, and while you weren’t the easiest year to live with, I’m glad you were my burden to bear.
Thank you for the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows, the many opportunities, and even for the allergies (because they always signal fall and spring).
Thank you for teaching me how to take life’s challenges as adventures explored, and mistakes as lessons learned. Because of you, I learned how to put the many hours of HGTV-watched to good use in fixing up and decorating my first home. Because of you, and your gosh-darn-Florida-summer-heat that broke our AC, I learned to truly appreciate the simple things that make life so much easier.
Thank you, for so many college courses that have pushed me to be a better student and pushed me towards the career I hope to have. Thank you for challenging me to always be my best, and for reminding me that my goals are only as impossible as I let them be.
Thank you, Second Year and my-first-apartment, for being oh-so-much-better than freshman year #dormlife, because I no longer had to haul my laundry up three flights of stairs, battle with suitemates over the opportunity to shower, or be subject to the many diseases from “dorm air”.
Thank you for bringing me some of the best friends I’ve ever had. For the friends who encouraged my ideas, from when I wanted to open my own store, to when I decided to stop eating meat. For the friends who listen and love unconditionally. For the friends who appreciate ice cream and iced coffee as much as I do. For the friends who love Jesus. For the friends who were models when I wanted to be photographer, and photographer when I wanted to be model. For all the loyal @KristenShaneBlog fans ;). For the friends who believed in me, sometimes more than I believed in myself.
Thank you for the opportunities to face my fears, from flying solo to NYC to pursuing a degree path that isn’t quite conventional.
Thank you, for another year with such a sweet roommate. I’m lucky to have someone who’s become family over the past two years (we endured that #dormlife together) and the perfect combination of best-friend-chef-dog-lover-and-roommate all in one. Life in our house is an adventure, but there’s no one else I’d rather bring along.
Thank you, for family and faith that were, and always will be, strong enough to be my rock when I feel like I have nothing else to stand on.
Thank you for the time to just be myself. This year, you’ve both broken me down and built me up, but you’ve set me on an even better path for Year Three.
Will I miss you, Second Year? Maybe, but it’s hard to be sad when there’s so much more to look forward to. Sunsets are beautiful, but sunrises are pretty awesome, too.
