Dear Freshman Emma,
I know you are moving into a very hot and sweaty dorm Harris that will become the butt of every joke for the next nine months. Use that roof access that you will discover in the next couple of weeks, and please do something cool with it. Your RA Ana doesn’t care, I promise.
Let me tell you the next four years are going to be full of experiences different than you thought they would be. You are going to change your major, join new clubs, quit activities and take on new chapters of your life. If there is one major piece of advice I’d like to tell you, it’s to reach out to everyone. There is no one too cool or intimidating to not meet, so go ahead and your future self will thank you. Some people will come in and out of your life, but every relationship you have will let you grow. Everyone has something to teach you, even if only realized in retrospect. You will meet the most incredible friends, in very unexpected ways. That girl two doors down that hasn’t thrown you out after hours of talking will become your college wife and best friend. The girl who messages you on Facebook about your blog will be your rock through any problem and a wonderful roommate. The girls in your sorority that were strangers on Bid Day will quickly become your people- as well as the most involved, caring, hilarious, smart young women you have ever been associated with.
You are going to make mistakes and embarrass yourself, but every misstep will result in a great story. You will have many, and shockingly, people will come to enjoy them and every weekend you will have some new story to tell. You are going to walk home in broken heels, experience hangovers that literally feel like the end of your life, take some rough falls to the ground, get your heart broken, wake up with popcorn in your bed and end up on the apartment quote board more than you like. Humor is going to carry you through every experience over the next four years- good and bad. Continue to be honest and vulnerable- the world could use more of it. Make sure to wear that skin tight black dress to everything, because after sophomore year it will become just a memory in the back of your closet.
Be kind to everyone. Don’t talk trash behind people’s backs. I would tell you to try and drop that management class this semester, but you are going to have to almost fail that class to realize that math and science isn’t really your thing. Get a durable iPhone case. Don’t compare yourself to anyone. Hang out with your big, little and frat lineage as much as you can- even though they’re busy. Eat as many Amami paninis you can stomach once it opens sophomore year. Take as many classes with Professor Ellis as your schedule allows. Do as much as you physically can abroad in London and continue writing letters- they will become some of your most prized possessions. Make sure to smile (you might not realize it, but in between class, it looks like you want to kill someone), laugh a lot, keep writing, taking pictures and soak it all in. No matter what challenges come your way- from roommate drama to getting stranded in Spain by yourself, you will make it to the other side, with a next step and incredible plans to move to one of your favorite places on Earth. The years will fly by, so take Bucknell for all that it has to offer- work hard, but also have a damn good time doing it. You got this, kid.
Love,
Your Little-Wiser Senior Counterpart