Hello, Third Year Avery.
Currently, we are sitting on our bed with sheets that you probably should wash, in our beloved dorm room in fourth Dev that we currently adore (despite the silverfish and ghosts). We are almost finished with our third week of sophomore year, and while I know we dreaded the adjustment coming here from the comfort of home, and the workload is already beating us down, we couldn’t be happier.
We’re realizing just how fast the time here goes by, and how little time we have left in this place with the friends and family we’ve made here, but we’re going to cherish all of this time and make the absolute most of every minute.
We’re still unsure as to what on earth we’re doing here in Olean, New York, all the way from Eugene, Oregon, and we are definitely missing Mom, Dad, Josie, and Natalie, and of course our dog Simon, much more this year, but the people we surround ourselves with make it better and bearable. Our photo wall of Simon makes it better, too, when we miss him extra. But we still have the same love for this place that we did when we toured 3 years ago in February. That sure feeling of home hasn’t gone away yet.
How are we doing? When we read this, it’ll probably be at the end of our spring semester, and we’ll be packing up our beautiful dorm in Dev, getting ready to go home for the summer. But how did it go? Did we make it through? Do you feel satisfied with how the year went?
We, of course, have so many questions for you, and future me probably has a multitude of stories to tell younger us, but I guess we’ll have to settle for waiting to watch them unfold.
Of course, not knowing how our year is going to unfold shoots stabs of anxiety through us. We worry so much about getting hurt from the things that could go wrong, we almost always miss the joy of being alive and 19 at a beautiful university.
It’s natural to feel anxious about not knowing the future, especially for anxious people like us, but my one piece of advice to our future self is to, please, not worry. Have so much fun, you deserve it, and God and life will take care of the rest. Just enjoy being alive with the beautiful people all around you.
I can’t wait to see how much you grow, Avery, and I am so excited for the adventure ahead of us. See you in the future!
Love Always,
Second year Avery