Dear Mom and Dad,College

Dear Mom and Dad, College is so much more than classes and studying; Finding my college best friend. Having the best roommate I could ask for. Having the roommate from a nightmare. Making a few lifelong friends, losing dozens along the way. Arriving twenty minutes early to my first class and sleeping through the rest. Forgetting an alarm for the dreadful eight AM classes. Running through campus to make it on time. Sharing a book with the cute boy next to me. Going to every single basketball game. Cheering loud enough to sport a sore throat the next day. Attending the college activities fair and signing up for more clubs than I could possible manage. Joining a sports team. Participating in intramurals every week and trying out new sports. Trying every cafeteria on campus, more than once. Exploring Milwaukee and getting lost and found along the way. Relaxing at the lake shore after a stressful day. Meeting a study group at the library. Starting an on-campus part-time job. Stressing over final exams. Staying up until the early morning, studying for tests or obsessing over Netflix. Forming a coffee addiction. Eating too much junk food. Working out at the on-campus fitness center (not as often as I should). Reading and re-reading the textbook multiple times. Acing my first test. Failing my first class. Desperately searching for an internship. Switching my major once, maybe twice. Discovering who I am. Spending a semester in Europe and another in Asia. Changing my style and chopping my hair. Gossiping with friends about the cutest boys on campus. Never witnessing a dull moment. Volunteering everywhere on campus. Researching how to change the world. Missing everyone at home. Crying to you over the phone. Insisting college is the best time of my life and believing in it. Growing through four years of an undergraduate program. Walking down the aisle to collect my diploma. Stumbling on my gown as I walk along the stage. Watching stray tears slide down my cheeks. Wishing my college life goodbye. Interviewing for my first real job. Squealing of joy when receiving my first job offer. Thanking you for giving me the best experiences, education, and growth I could ever wish for. Love, Brittney Brown