I sat down on a bed with Sheridan Forker in the old ADPi house as a freshman. My eyes were wide and my mind racing because I had just walked into my forever home, the walls pale blue and the smiling face, all familiar in their own specific way. I knew it then and there, this was where I was always supposed to be. There are not many times in a person's life that they feel this amount of certainty, but ADPi has consistently been that certainty that my world so desperately needed. I am now a senior and my time with this chapter has flown. I mean, I blinked and I am going into my last year in college which makes me emotional. I laughed until my ribs were sore. I cried until there were no tears left. Yet, in all this time, that consistency has never wavered. It has stood strong and brave. This chapter has been there for me, when I needed and times I wasn’t willing to admit that to myself. 

When it comes to those who made this chapter what it is to me, the list of people I have to thank is long. Yet, some stick out because of their willingness to speak courage and strength into my life

To my lovely Cassie Fullen. Thank you for being that girl I ran to in the roller rink on Big/Little Reveal. Even if we didn’t immediately remember each other's names, it was fate. I met my best friend, my role model, my shoulder to cry on and my mom all in one evening and that is something I will never finish thanking God for. You are bound for big things and I can only hope that I am as good of a big sister as you were to me.

To my fiery Maddy Lindskog. You make me laugh unlike any other person in my life. When you got into my car for our first Diamond Date and nonchalantly told me it was your birthday, acting as though it was no big deal, I knew that this girl was the little sister for me. You are daring and gentle and want so much for others to succeed. You have a mind that is brilliant beyond its years, even if you don’t believe it yourself. I am not ready to leave you, but I know you are going to carry on a better legacy than it was when we found it. 

To my sweet Katie Bianchini. Gracious and poised don't even come close to finishing the list of words I have to describe you. You came to this chapter on a mission to better yourself and change the world around you and you have already done it by leaps and bounds. When Maddy called me to tell me all about the girl she wanted to be her little, I knew just by the sound of her voice that she was bringing home an angel. You are wise and humble and I can only hope to be you when I grow up. 

To my gaggles, Chloe Day & Ruth Fields. You two make my day everytime I see you. Not only that, you make me instantly snap out of a funk to celebrate the moment God gave us together. Chlo, you are creative and quick. You have a beautiful heart and an even more gorgeous mind and the world isn't ready for you. Ruthie, your honesty and gumption is something I never knew I needed in my life and I cannot believe it took me until junior year to find it. You deserve the world and everything it has to offer. 

And finally, to my best friend/love of my life, Olivia Chalenko. Wow, I don’t even know where to start. I met you sitting on the sofa in the old TV room during a small group and we looked at each other as if we had known the other person for a lifetime. From that point forward, I knew my life was never going to not have you in it. You are smart, kind, caring and willing to do anything to make those around you smile. You have been there with me through the good and the bad: My first kiss during your 21st birthday. My mom’s sobriety. My journeys in England. My heartbreak. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to be the person I know I can always call. You are going to make this world a much better place than before and I cannot wait to be there at the finish line when all is said and done. 

Thank you ADPi, for these people and these memories. I love and live for Alpha Delta Pi.