With the semester coming to an end, so does my four years here at The Iona College High School Institute of Technology. College has been a trip, and that’s an understatement. Who knew that being at a place for just four years could feel like an eternity. Take the word “eternity” as you will, good or bad.

For those of you that know me, you know how I feel. I don’t like to dwell on the bad in any situation for too long because every situation has a silver lining that makes it worthwhile.

Four years ago, I was a person who was unsure about his direction in life. Fast-forward to now, not a single thing has changed. I’m like that one emoji man with his hands in his hair, perpetually confused and unaware of what’s going on.

Majoring in Mass Communication — which was an accident by the way, I was thinking of being a Psychology major — ended up being probably one of the top three best things that happened to me. I reconnected with my love of media, the internet and most importantly, photography. My biggest joy and my most hated friend. It always gave me a special edge and perspective in all of my courses and for that I’ll always be thankful.

Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Iona was not my first choice, but financially it made the most sense. It was far enough away from home where I could pretend like I was across the country, which is what I initially intended, when I was really just a quick 70-mile drive across the George Washington Bridge to good old New Jersey.

Being here, I’ve made some great friends and I’ve also lost some –good and bad, it happens. What I’ve learned from those experiences is that you find the small things that make you happy and hold onto them. My few close friends, my yearbook staff — past and present — and the other things I’m involved in on campus that keep me sane and busy are a testament to this. Shout out to my Ionian family.

To end, I’ll leave you with this. If I had to make my decision again as a deciding high school senior, it would be highly probable that I’d pick a different choice. That said, there are a select few things that have happened to me here that have made me happier than I could have imagined. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though.

Iona, to me, is a happy factory. There are three types of students on campus. The first are those who love being involved, overly friendly and the do-all, be-all Iona super fans. The second kind are the ones who don’t love Iona, so they force themselves to fall in love with things here to not feel like an outcast. Finally, the third kind are those like me, who take this place for face value, understand the intricacies and just kind of skate by. An unpopular opinion, yes. Mine, 100 percent.

I couldn’t care less what anyone thinks of me at this point. Go Gaels or something like that.