As I start my final semester at Iona University, I can’t help but to reflect on my four years here. Everyone I talk to has had a different experience, some found a second home here and others cannot wait to leave New Rochelle. I on the other hand, am experiencing a little bit of both. 

I have had the best four years that I could’ve asked for. I have got to continue playing the sport I grew up playing and have loved for as long as I can remember. The sport that led me to Iona, and I am eternally grateful that this is the place I will finish my career. 

Iona also gave me best friends for life. I genuinely do not think I would’ve made it through these four years if it weren’t for them. They have been by my side through it all and without Iona we never would have known each other. 

Last but certainly not least, Iona made me realize what I want to do with my life and gave me the steppingstones to be able to do so. For this, I will never be able to express enough gratitude towards. 

By no means has my time at Iona been all rainbows, of course there have been storms and sometimes even tsunamis along the way. However, a wise woman once said, “life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain” and that is exactly what I did. 

When I first came to Iona, I was not the same person that I am now. I was a scared little freshman who just had her senior year of high school taken away from her due to Covid-19. I had no idea what the next four years would entail but I am thankful every day that I took that leap. I have learned so many things about myself and others during my years here and it makes me even more excited to keep discovering those things. 

I will always cherish my time here, however; I am so excited to see where this next chapter of my life will take me. I want to see new places and discover who I am outside of softball and outside of New Rochelle. I now have a great foundation thanks to Iona, and I know that I will find my place in the big scary world. 

However, I am not done just yet. I still have a few more months before I walk across that stage at graduation. I am going to soak in every moment at the place I have made my second home at. I promised myself not to take one thing for granted and to appreciate all the little moments. Before I know it, I wish I could do it for just one more day. The big scary world can wait, Iona can’t get rid of me that easily. 

If you are in the same boat as me, my friends and I came up with this rule for our last semester. If one of us wants to go do something and the others don’t, we get to call “senior year” and we have no option other than to drop everything we are doing and join them. I promise you will not regret it and after all, it is your senior year so go make some memories.