As Ron Burgundy would say, I was in a pickle four years ago.

I didn’t want to admit it, but after high school I was leaving everything familiar and comforting: a supportive family, great friends and a decent place to grow up. I didn’t want to pack up and move my life to Rochester.

Fast-forward to now, I can’t stand my family, and I’ve lost touch with almost half of the people I hung out with in high school. (The people I’m still in contact with, I wish I wasn’t.) Also, every time I’m in my hometown, my bank account gets lower because of my new hobby: collecting traffic violations. Sometimes, I think, “What was I missing in the first place?”

And even now facing another graduation, I’m right back to square one. I don’t want to leave college. I’m having too much fun here. Hanging out with friends 24/7, with the few trade-offs of writing papers and doing a few projects here and there, is a dream boat.

Even though my diploma is set in stone, I could probably keep the party going by changing my major or doing grad work, but it just wouldn’t be the same. College is a window of opportunity that stays open for so long before it gets uncomfortably cold.

A few weeks ago, I was cleaning my basement and discovered the old toys I played with when I was a kid. I remembered all of the sweet times I had in those days, but realized I had moved on to way bigger and better things. Even now when saying “so long” to school, moving on is still a necessary evil. Besides, no one wants to be on their parents’ insurance for the next 20 years.

I’m sure four years later, I’ll be thinking the same thing I was when I graduated high school: “Rochester, what was I missing in the first place? Jagged bits of ice being blown in my face at 80 mph, that awkward Alma Mater I never sang, getting three write-ups, disciplinary probation until the ridiculous date of 2008 (mad props to ResLife) and having barely any money in the bank at all times.”

Who am I kidding? I’ll miss it all. Like my Uncle Joe, who’s a financial lawyer, told me last year, “You better enjoy these years because afterwards everything goes downhill.” Good thing I’m not going into law.