Nine days are all I’ve got left.

Nine days left in a little town called Abilene at a campus I have come to call home. Nine more days of the Bean. Only nine short days ’til I hand in the key (which I think I have lost) to the last dorm room I’ll ever live in.

Cue the tears; send in the clowns; strike up the band; I’m starting to say my goodbyes.

As I pack up my room and my suitcase to head to the British Isles, I wanted to say a few parting words to none other than Barret dormitory.

To Barret room 2A8,

It’s been pretty nice living here these 15 short weeks. I’m really going to miss the good thing we’ve got going.

But don’t worry, dorm. I won’t forget the memories we’ve made. I’ll always remember the good times we had, and of course, the first 11 weeks of school when the outside door didn’t lock and any stranger passing by could’ve walked in and stolen my belongings.

I will also remember when the outside door did start locking. You know, when I had to crawl through my window several times because I left my ID card in my room. Those were (are) the days.

And how can I forget, I will treasure the nights when the heater came on and I laid on my couch with ice packs on me to keep from sweating.

We’ve been through a lot, you know. You’ve been with me through my late nights and you’ve understood the mornings when I wake up at 7:42 for an 8 a.m. class. Times got tough for the three weeks I wore a yellow skirt every day, but luckily we made it through together.

I’d like to take this time to apologize for all the times I used my crockpot and made our room smell like a number of different foods, namely the entire turkey I cooked for Thanksgiving.

Through the smells and the always hot air and the creaky beds, we’ve come to know each other pretty well. You, as well as anyone, know I’m not the cleanest girl on the block, sometimes I sing in the shower and I watch The Office more than I should. But these are the things that have bonded us, dearest room.

Think of me when someone else fills the space come January. Remember me when I soon reside on Canterbury Road, because when I’m gone, when I’m gone, well, you’re going to miss me when I’m gone.

My dorm days are over.

Farewell, Barret. Farewell.