My sister is one of my best friends.

We've complained about boys, our parents, homework and a host of other things together. She knows precisely when I will cry in Remember the Titans and she never fails to tease me about being sappy.

My sister Sarah is about to graduate high school, just as I am about to graduate from Penn State. She'll be off to the University of Toledo in August to study film.

She is in the exact same place I was four years ago -- ready to leave parts of her life behind to do new things, make new friends and create a new "family."

That's part of what we do in college.

We find people we are comfortable with and make them part of our family. These people don't replace our actual relatives or friends from grade school who have been there every step of the way.

But these are the people who you probably turned to during a fairly formative time of your life.

The big decisions were made with these people nearby.

I've been really lucky to have such a "family" or several families.

For the past four years, I've worked with some of the smartest, kindest and most ambitious people I know at the Collegian.

They have pushed me, tortured me and inspired me.

The editors and reporters who came before me offered their advice, patience and understanding. And those younger than me have pushed me to my limits, expanding my viewpoint and pushing me to do better.

My roommates and two friends from freshman year are like extra sisters or close cousins who know my hopes, goals, triumphs and failures.

They are the consolers, cheerleaders and listeners.

And the people I work with at the writing center are part of this family of friends too. They have shown time and time again how enthusiasm for writing and helping others can go a long way.

They are some of the most selfless people I know, patiently working with students on their papers.

I hope I can live up to their standards.

I owe all of these people an awful lot of gratitude, for the lessons they have taught me, for their inspiration and for their kindness. I truthfully do not know how I would have survived Penn State without all of them.

It's my hope that my sister will duplicate my fortunes and find a "family" of her own in Toledo.

She should be so lucky as to find so many wonderful and talented people to associated herself with.

She'll be setting herself up for an awfully good four years if she is able to find even half the friends that I found at Penn State.