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The Daily Tar Heel

Column: You will never stop being a Tar Heel

	Gabriella Kostrzewa is a senior journalism and political science major from Raleigh.

Gabriella Kostrzewa is a senior journalism and political science major from Raleigh.

I t’s hard to perfectly encapsulate what I want myself to remember from my time here at UNC.

It’s just this innate sense of knowing that coming to UNC was the best decision I have made in my life so far. It is the feeling that washes over me every time I walk by the Old Well, as if my soul was telling me I was exactly where I needed to be. It will forever be the indescribable joy of when we beat Duke.

It is the knowledge that I will forever have a special, and cherished, connection with the people here.

My experiences and interactions with my friends, my professors and even acquaintances have empowered me to be the best possible version of myself I can be.

As a North Carolinian born and raised, I know that my decision to come to UNC has allowed me to realize that this great state has been and always will be home. No matter where life will take me.

Remember the infinite sense of possibility you feel in this moment, and do not lose it. Life will challenge me, but I am ready because UNC and my time here have enabled me to have confidence in my abilities and most importantly myself.

The best years of my life are not behind me, if anything they are stretching before me, just waiting patiently for me to experience them.

What I want all of us to remember is that we do not stop being a Tar Heel the day we graduate — that title is something we will have the rest of our lives.

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