To those of you who say Penn State commonwealth campuses are not cool, or that by going to a commonwealth campus you don't get the true Penn State experience: I beg to differ.

I started my college career at Penn State Altoona. And no, I did not apply to University Park and get rejected; the Altoona campus was actually my first choice. After visiting the campus and seeing everything it had to offer, I decided it was where I wanted to go for the first two years of my college career. I didn't think I was going to be ready to go to a large campus with 40,000 strangers.

By going to Penn State Altoona, I was still able to go to Penn State, have smaller classes and come to University Park my junior year. To me, it was the best decision I have ever made in my life so far. I met some of my favorite professors who have continued to help me in my college education, and I made some really great friends who I will never forget.

The friends I made at Penn State Altoona will always have a special place in my heart. Don't get me wrong, the friends I made in State College do, too; but I have spent four years of my life with these people. They knew me when I first came to college. I was quiet and not very outgoing, and now a lot of them think I did a total 180. I am not sure if that is good or not, but we all grew to love and hate what we called Toon-town.

The Nittany Pointe apartments on top of the never-ending hill provided us with many memories at Schmidty's first phase and second phase parties. "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi and Nelly's "Ride Wit Me" were the most popular songs. Sitting on the roof of Maple Hall and eating the oh-so-wonderful food at Port Sky (aka "Port Slop") are now distant memories. "The House" was a place to party or just hang out. Sigma Maple Pi, Zeta Cedar Zi, La Clique, The Maple Mamas and LLC are things that we have already grown out of, but will always remember.

After two years it was time to move 45 minutes up the road to a new place -- State College.

We all transferred to University Park, and it was different because we weren't right down the hall from one another. We had to travel to see each other. We made new friends, but we continued to stay friends with the crew from Toon-town. At both places I learned more about myself, my career I was pursuing and what these four years really meant to me.

While at Penn State Altoona, I learned about myself and what was becoming important to me. I learned there are other people out there and not just the people from your high school. There were other people for me to meet, and after a while, my boyfriend from high school and I grew apart. Out of my friends who I have made in college who came to school with a significant other from home, only one is still together. That has to tell you something -- there are other people out there.

I learned you can go out and have fun and still get your work done. Your GPA is not everything; in fact, since I have been applying for jobs, not one has asked me what my GPA is. Have fun while you are in college, because right now I wish I still had another year to spend with my friends. Penn State Altoona and University Park have prepared me for the "real world." But at the same time, I don't feel ready. I don't want to leave my friends. I don't want to get up early to go to a job that doesn't pay me well and go to a new place where I don't know anyone.

In a way, I think going into the "real world" may be like college all over again, but a college for grown-ups. I can imagine you will still go out, but not four times a week; you will most likely move away; you still have to do work of some sort, but not school work; you have to make new friends all over again; and you have to do things for yourself.

By working at The Daily Collegian, I have learned more about journalism than I could have ever imagined in college. After all, it is the experiences and the people you know that will get you places. I made some really great friends there that know how you feel after you spend your day at classes and then endless hours down in the basement of the James Building day after day. I don't think anything could have prepared me more for the "real world" of journalism.

Now it is coming down to the wire; we have one week of classes left. I keep asking myself where the time went, because it definitely flew. I find myself looking back at my pictures from the past three years, remembering all the fun we had in Toon-town and State College.

Friends I made in State College have told me they are envious of us, because they see what type of friendship we all have. And some say they wished they had had friendships like we all had throughout our college experience.

To the friends I made, I hope we all keep in touch. I couldn't imagine what my past four years would have been like if I didn't have all of you in my life. I probably wouldn't have had the true college experience. Even though there were some ups and downs, you all made my college experience better than I could have ever imagined.

And to all of you who talk down on places like Penn State Altoona, maybe you should stop and think what would have happened if you went to a commonwealth campus and had the same kind of experience we all had.