By Samantha Overgaard, Guest Column

One test. I am one test away from finishing my freshman year of college. It&8217;s unbelievable to think this time has come, but it&8217;s here and I&8217;m ready for it.

I think.

This past year at Madison has been one of the best years of my life. I met some amazing people, I studied with professors who have won numerous awards, I got to see what a Division I football game was like, and I hung out with friends at one of the biggest block parties in the country. It&8217;s been an amazing year, and now that it&8217;s almost over I can&8217;t help but get sad about saying goodbye.

The college experience is unlike anything I have ever been through. I realized school is much harder and I have to study day and night if I want to get good grades. Of course, all the studying paid off on the weekends when I was able to relax and be with friends. I&8217;m happy to say I made the right choice with Madison. I can&8217;t see myself being this happy at any other school.

A lot has happened this past year; good and bad. The goods being, of course, the friends I made, cheering our men&8217;s basketball team on while they played in March Madness, and eating ice cream on the terrace (which is where I am right now, attempting to get some sun). I was also able to write numerous articles for one of our school newspapers, which is a pretty big deal for someone who wants to be a journalist.

Of course, there were some events which were sad to see. Madison dealt with the murder of University of Wisconsin student Brittney Zimmerman and recently I watched one of the University&8217;s frat houses go up in flames. Being a little less serious, I had to write some of the hardest papers I&8217;ve ever been assigned and I learned the hard way that going without sleep for two days doesn&8217;t work well.

No matter how good of a time I have, I have to admit it has been hard being away from family and old friends. Albert Lea has been my home for 19 years and I know all its secrets. In Madison I know my way around campus and State Street, but I&8217;m not too sure what lies beyond that. I&8217;ve always felt safe and comfortable in Albert Lea and often I miss those feelings while walking I&8217;m the streets of Madison.

Pretty soon I&8217;ll be back to Albert Lea and I&8217;ll get to stay for three solid months. It&8217;s exciting knowing I get to see all my family and friends, but I&8217;m a little torn. I don&8217;t want to have to say goodbye to my new friends and leave the place I&8217;ve come to know so well. I can&8217;t wait to spend time with friends from home, but I&8217;m also nervous that things will have changed between us. I&8217;m excited to work for my dad and go to the garden centers on the weekend with my mom, but I&8217;m nervous for the time when I have to say goodbye to them in the fall.

I want to get back to Albert Lea and my home, but I&8217;m just plain nervous. These are going to be the last three solid months I spend in my old bedroom. If I think it&8217;s hard saying goodbye to Madison now, I can&8217;t imagine how hard it will be to say goodbye to Albert Lea.

But thank goodness it isn&8217;t time for that quite yet. Madison is where I&8217;ll be for the next three years, if not more, but Albert Lea will always be my home.

Well it&8217;s about time I study for that last test. I&8217;ll be home soon Albert Lea. Very soon.

Samantha Overgaard is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She graduated from Albert Lea High School in 2007 and is a former Tribune intern.