When you graduate from MSU, it’s very likely that you will not be the same person you were when you first arrived. It doesn’t matter if you were that scared little freshman or the one who thought you knew everything there was to know.

There’s a transformation that occurs during our time here at MSU. It might just be little changes, or it could be drastic ones. Those changes form us into the people we are meant to be. We’re all here to learn, to get a degree and prepare ourselves for a successful adulthood.

However, we don’t just learn from our classes — we also learn from each other. We learn from our friends and we grow with them. We gain so much from the relationships that we form and even from the relationships that fall apart.

No matter which high school you went to — big or small — moving from there to MSU is a drastic change.

I went to a tiny high school. My graduating class was comprised of only 18 students. Going from that tiny class to lecture halls filled with hundreds of people was intimidating at first, but I quickly learned to love it. I chose MSU and East Lansing because of the sheer size of the population.

Growing up in a small town made me crave something more. I wanted the opportunities to grow intellectually and as a person. MSU has provided me with everything I ever wanted.

I’m in my fourth year now, and these days when I walk through campus I usually end up recognizing at least a few people. Freshman year, campus seemed both daunting and massive. I got lost more often than I’d like to admit.

Now, after living here for what feels like forever, it no longer feels daunting — it feels like home. The campus has shaped me, the people here have changed me and I’m going to miss it when I have to move on.

At the beginning of last semester, my roommates kept saying something that really bothered me. They told me, “We’ve already met everyone that we’re going to meet.”

They did have a point, I suppose. In most of my classes now I recognize a few people, so there aren’t very many new faces. Yet, I feel like thinking that way is very limiting. Even though we will soon be leaving this place behind, we still need to make the most of our time here.

We should continue to form bonds with fellow students and try to make new friends even if we’ll only drift apart from them in the years to come.

I remember counting the days before I had to move into the dorms my freshman year. I was terrified, but more than anything I was excited.

I had no idea what was in store, what I’d learn or how I would change. I had no idea that I would be where I am now, but how could I? Now, I’m counting the days until graduation, and that rush of fear comes back.

We’re going to be starting new chapters of our lives. Four years from now, we might look back and realize we’ve changed all over again. We’re going to keep changing, our lives are going to keep moving and we need to embrace that and make the most out of life.