Liz. That’s what some of your new friends are going to call you. At first, it’s going to feel a little weird because you’ve never had a nickname before, but it’ll grow on you and you’ll find it endearing as time goes on—and you’ll find it helpful in finding out if someone is mad at you because you’ll quickly become “Lissette” again to the ones who call you Liz, so the nickname is endearing and convenient (hehe).
Move in day is going to be hard—really hard—you’ll be crying for most of the day and dad is going to send you to do your first “adult task”, which means hopping out of the car and get the key to your new room ALONE!! This will terrify you, but don’t complain the way you did that day, it’ll be the easiest “adult task” you’ll have to face all year. When you walk up to the RA table where they give you your key, you won’t have even the faintest idea how much each person sitting there giving you information about your new home will mean to you by the time June comes around. Befriend them sooner.
Don’t be afraid. Don’t let your fear of meeting new people get in the way of enjoying your new life… Talk to the girls sitting by you in your first floor meeting. Little do you know that they’ll be your squad.The super tall girl who you see in the hall that you think hates you doesn’t actually hate you, she just can’t see you because she’s like ten feet tall and you’re like 2 feet tall, you guys are going to get really close and even become roommates someday! The girl you literally see everywhere doesn’t think you’re weird and she’s just as afraid that you think she’s stalking you as you are that she thinks you’re stalking her, but if that’s not an obvious sign that you’re meant to be BFFs then I don’t know what is. Find your guy friends sooner and get close with them, they’re going to be some of the best friends you’ve ever had, too. The list goes on, but from this I just want you to learn that not everything is quite as it seems and it’s something I want you to learn quickly because you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble if you do.
You’re going to fall for someone this year. He will be sweet and charming and funny and you’ll wonder how someone can make you laugh so much. It’ll be great, you’ll even go on your first date ever. Enjoy this, it’s meant to be enjoyed. But don’t let it change you if the change is harmful. It’ll break your heart. You will cry and you will wonder why you weren’t “good enough”, and you’ll wonder when it was that things became more bitter than they were sweet. But the fact that something isn’t meant to be is not a reflection of yourself, it simply is what it is: not meant to be. Grow from this, but don’t allow yourself to be wounded.
Liz, you’re going to take on an identity that is not yours later on this year. And by that, I don’t mean the federal crime of identity theft, I mean that you are going to lose sight of who you are and whose you are. You’re going to take on this persona of a “hopeless romantic” and sure, you always have been that, it’s who you are—but the problem is going to start when you allow it to be all-consuming. You’ll begin to put your worth in who loves you and you’ll be asked to change. You, not knowing any better, will change yourself for the sake of obtaining that “love” that everyone seems to have found. Don’t. If there’s anything you take out of this letter it should be this: You are made for more than what the world asks of you. You were made beautiful, you were made strong and you were made brave. Have the courage to stand firm in who you are and what you believe in—only then will you find out what you’re truly living for. Don’t live for others, and don’t give the privilege to know what breaks your heart to people who don’t deserve it. You are never too much and you are never too idealistic. Stay hopeful, keep your loving heart open but don’t let anyone take advantage of it. Keep reaching for the sky—that’s where you’ll find who you are and what you’re living for. Not in the expectations of your peers or in the grades you earn or in the romantic relationship that you may or may not have.
All in all, I’m not going to ask you to change any of your choices because you’ll be satisfied with where those choices got you. I will ask you to change the way that those choices affected you and I also ask that you are more mindful of every moment. Keep your diary up to date, make all the good choices you made sooner and know that this will be a year that you’ll always look back on fondly. Again, don’t be afraid make the most of it as soon as you can, because when you’re trying to “make the most of it” with only half a year left, it sucks. Know what you have from the get-go, I know they say hindsight is 20/20 but make your vision of the present 20/20 instead.