What has made K great for me: my friends

With my last exam out of the way, I am officially halfway through college. Given that I'm going to be spending my entire junior year in London, I'm actually two thirds of the way through my time at K! As I take stock of my college experiences so far, I think that this school has greatly exceeded my expectations. The reason that K has been better than I hoped is not the classes, or professors, or community (all of which have been great), but rather the friends I've made.

I knew that I had a found some real gems in fall quarter of freshmen year when we successfully brought Wolf Awareness Week to Kalamazoo College (see more about that here), and I came to love my friends more as our shenanigans expanded. The best thing about my friends is that they're always willing to do something instead of just sitting around. There's always someone willing to watch or play something new, travel somewhere on an "adventure", or organize a massive game of Humans Versus Zombies. No matter what, there's something exciting going on!

And my girlfriend Riley has pushed my college experience into places I didn't think I'd ever go! Thanks to her support, I've run a half-marathon, camped on the sleeping bear dunes in the middle of the winter, and hiked around the Smoky Mountains for two weeks. I would be a lazier and lamer person if it weren't for her.

My suite mates and friends! There are many more friends who are not pictured and have helped make my time at K an excellent experience.

I'm excited to have new experiences abroad, but I know that I'll never again have anything quite like these last two years. I'm going to miss my adventures with my friends next year.