People often say their college years are some of the best years of their lives. I obviously haven’t experienced anything beyond college yet, but as a senior, I can say I have loved every minute of college, and if I could do it all over again, I would. Something I have always thought and talked about with my friends is how we will never really live this close in proximity of each other ever again. That’s what I’m going to miss most about college.

College typically starts with a dorm room and is one of the first communities you’ll experience as a freshman. My dorm experience led me to some of my best friends and a community I feel like I will have for the rest of my life. We would do homework together, eat together, play games together and all it ever took was a quick walk down the hall and a knock on the door. I became friends with our dorm neighbors and am still great friends with my freshman year roommate, who ended up being my roommate the following three years as well. My dorm made a huge campus feel small and tight-knit, and even though we all eventually moved out, the feeling remained.

After moving out of the dorms and into houses and apartments all around Champaign-Urbana, the entire area became like a bigger dorm. Now, our friends are a quick walk down the street or a simple bus ride away. I know it’s hard, but if you think about your life post-college, you and your friends may be in different cities, states or even countries. It’s hard to think about, but after I had some friends graduate and leave Champaign, I never fully understood the blessing a college campus is. I complain all the time when I have to walk all the way from Urbana to Champaign to meet up with some friends, but one day, I might have to take a plane or a much longer drive.

I always hear people talking about how it’s harder to make friends when you finally become a full-functioning adult, and I definitely think the way we live is a part of that reason. After college, everyone goes off to do different things, but now, we’re all here taking classes and just trying to graduate. We’re in similar life stages, and that makes our social lives a lot easier.

The fact of the matter is we live so close to our friends, and it took me until this year to fully start realizing and appreciating that.

Samantha is a senior in Media.

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