My first memory of Boston University is in the rain.

I was following one of those famous tours around campus with my parents in August before my senior year of high school, and I instantly knew I would attend BU. I saw the rain as a good omen.

It rained again during Splash, but not from the sky. This was my defining college moment. Four thousand of my new classmates were meeting each other and sharing laughs and fun among music and barbecue right outside my window, while I shared a box of tissues with two friends I had known since high school as we sat on the floor in a dark Rich Hall triple.

I came to BU from a town 30 minutes away, but it might as well have been abroad. A “tough transition” into college was putting it lightly. I made my parents come to visit me every day for the first five days of college. I don’t think I stepped foot in the dining hall for about a week, which was not the best way to make friends during that crucial year.

I am happy to say that my college experience drastically improved since that first week. Luckily, I did meet wonderful friends. I have never once considered transferring universities. However, I did change my major four times among three different schools at BU. I can safely say I have gotten my money’s worth.

My education here has not been limited to the classroom. Most importantly, I learned how to be independent during these four, short years. I have mastered the art of heating a frozen dinner while studying for an exam, talking on the phone and writing a paper. I cannot say I have completely learned how to manage my time effectively after four years here, but I have noticed a decrease in the anxiety I feel when starting a paper the night before it is due.

I would like to offer you some of words of wisdom I have learned through my own personal experiences at Boston University:

Always separate darks from lights when doing laundry. Or, do as I did the past four years and bring your laundry home every few weeks. You can always just buy new socks if you run out.

Always call home when you need support, either emotional or financial. Your family will always be there for you when you need them.

Always make the most of your time and do everything you want to, even if it means sacrificing sleep.

Now, for the things you should never do:

Never save a 10-page research paper until the night before it is due if you intend to go to bed that evening.

Never base your plans around someone else. Sometimes it is OK to be a little selfish and do what is best for you.

Never focus on what could have been. Look back on your college career with no regrets.

In my four years here, I have seen BU install cable TV, permanently close a dormitory, open BU Central and plant a tree or two along Commonwealth Avenue. I have met the most amazing people who would do anything for me. I have had professors who genuinely wanted me to succeed. I have never skipped a class during my eight semesters. I have run with sneakers on an ice skating rink while hitting a ball with a broomstick. I have shared a dorm room with someone who has my exact name. I have never pulled a true all-nighter, but there have been a few nights over the years when I have gotten one or two hours of sleep. Sometimes it was by choice.

I can conclude that my time here was well spent.

For most, college is defined by Ramen noodles and sleepless nights. While this was true for me as well, I will look back on my college experience as a time of growth and learning. I consider myself so lucky to have gotten the education and experience here that I did. I hope all of you will feel the same way when you graduate.

During matriculation freshman year, administrators told us we may very well find our future spouses at BU and that these will be the best years of our lives. While I can tell you that I have no plans to marry anytime soon, these four years have absolutely been the best, most memorable ones of my life. At the beginning of freshman year, I was afraid of what I would be missing back at home with my family. It was the scariest thing to think that their lives would go on without me there. Then I realized that it was time for me to start a life of my own, and I could not have done that anywhere else but here. Now I am terrified of what I will be leaving behind when I depart BU in a couple weeks with the Class of 2008. Where do we go from here?

Well, I could try out for the Real World, but I think this is its last season on TV. So I guess there is nothing left to do but enter the real world. I think I’ll be OK.

My last memory of Boston University will definitely be blurred with water droplets. I just hope it doesn’t rain on graduation day.