Column: Everybody likes a parfait

The most common response I got when I asked past graduates why they decided to go to Duke was for the people, and now, three weeks shy of graduating myself, the thing I will remember most about these four years are the people, too.

To be totally honest, I didn't come to Duke originally for the people. I came to this school hoping to challenge myself academically, to keep myself busy extracurricularly and, although I didn't think it was cool to admit it then, to be pre-med. While I think I accomplished most of these things, it's only four years later that I realize how naive and narrow my goals were. Then again, I was an awfully pretentious freshman. I never verbalized it but high school jaded me - I had a 4.0 GPA, time to do everything (and do it all well) and the maturity to get through any difficulty - why wouldn't things come easily in college?

Needless to say, I had a major reality check my first year here. I realized I was surrounded by people who had worked their butts off in high school and who had similar experiences and goals as mine. It was easy to feel small and worst of all, I started to lose faith in myself. Things are considerably better now. I started immersing myself in things that genuinely interested me and spent more time with people I cared about. I realized college was a time for me to learn, not strictly about electrons and neural pathways and supply and demand, but most importantly, about taking risks to discover myself. I finally have a better understanding about what drives me, what I am (and am not) passionate about and what scares me. I have more courage.

While I'm not nearly old and experienced enough to impart any life-changing advice, I know I've learned a lot over the past four years. I've learned the importance of making time for myself, embracing my independence, believing in my abilities and being honest with myself. I've learned not to take things (especially friends) for granted, not to use complaining as an excuse (because the grass is always greener on the other side) and not to be so serious all the damn time. I have few regrets from the past four years.

That said, I'm ready to move on. I cannot wait to not have to worry about exams and papers looming over my head and about running to my next meeting. Maybe in some ways I can't wait to experience the real world to actually see how much I've grown and matured during these four years.

While I'm looking forward to next year, I may not be ready (just yet) to say goodbye to the people who have made my college experience as good as it's been. If you don't know me, my thanks will probably seem contrived but in all sincerity:

To my friends, thank you for making the past four years incredible. Thank you for the memories, the late nights, the snow days, the trips to Honey's, the long conversations, the back rubs, the dinners, the laughs, the rehearsals, the fights (and make-ups), the kebab runs, the gossip, the ups, the downs and the craziness in between. You awe, teach, inspire and, most importantly, believe in me. Thanks for letting me depend on you.

I also cannot thank the kids who work on The Chronicle enough. You are an amazing group of people and it has been a real privilege to work with such a bright, talented and dedicated staff. Thanks for (really) letting me be myself, for all the opportunities and the challenges and for sharing your passion for me. Thanks especially to the seniors for a great four years - working on this paper requires an incredible amount of time and dedication and despite the times when I was ready to walk away, you are the reasons why I stuck it out. I will miss 301 Flowers.