When I came to Bowling Green State University, it was 2020. It was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I was a terrified eighteen-year-old traveling across the state where I would know no one and nothing. I wasn’t scared of the courses, I wasn’t afraid that I would fall behind — I loved school, and I’m not sure that any amount of difficulty in the classroom could frighten me away from my love of learning. I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to create a life here; making friends, and making memories, those have always seemed a lot harder than reading, writing, and even taking tests. As my time at BGSU comes to an end, I feel it is only right to take a moment and reflect on what actually happened. My younger self deserves to know it will be okay.
So, without further ado…
“Dear Hannah,
I could recount every memorable moment of the last four years for you. Every new person, new experience, the love, and the loss…but then it would have all been for nothing. It is both fortunate and unfortunate that you will go through an incredible amount during your time here, and as often as I curled up and cried after particularly hard days or situations, I do not think that I would change a thing about this experience. I have never been one to believe in the saying ‘things happen for a reason’— you should know that better than anyone — but it is an undeniable truth that our experiences, what does happen, changes our lives and who we are forever.
Stop being so afraid of the unknown. Change is hard; I remember how difficult graduating high school was. You did not want to leave the tiny town that you grew up in or go to a new place you had never been. I find myself in a similar situation now, but rest assured, you will make friends. You will find love. You may lose some of each in the process, but I can sincerely say that my time at BGSU…our time at BGSU…will be the best of our life so far. You chose this school for financial reasons, you chose this school because it was close enough to home while still being away, but soon — and you probably will not even realize this while it is happening — it will become home.
There is no way that I could ever properly sum up the significance of the last four years. And in fact, I do not think that I would try and summarize it, even if I could. If I had seen any of what happened coming, who knows if I would have done things the same or made the same choices, and who knows if I would be the person writing this letter today. I would not risk that for the world.
All I know is this: your choices to engage and be a part of a community here, despite your many fears about not fitting in or finding your people, will be the determinant to discovering more of yourself that you ever thought was there. I have grown and learned so much in the past four years, and I know there’s more to come as I take the next step and journey off to wherever the next part of my academic career takes me.
It is kind of funny—I can look back and tell you to quell the many fears you had, but I cannot help but feel the same way about the next chapter of life. Maybe we can never truly experience change unafraid, but we have to experience it regardless.
Taking a chance on Bowling Green was the best thing you ever did.
With love,
Hannah <3
P.S. You do not hate the color orange anymore.”