To: High School Grace
From: College Grace
Subject: An Update
Message:
Hi, love! You made it out! I wish I could go back and give you a hug and say everything will turn out okay; I know you had everyone telling you that but it never felt true. It was a long waiting game, but you did it. Last year was so hard and your feelings were so valid even if you didn’t think that in your head. It seems so silly to look back at us last year. All I can think is “What the hell was I so sad about?” but it’s so much easier to see once you get out of that spot. You felt the feelings and they eventually passed. You relied on those you could trust and knew loved and cared for you, (and your therapist) and made it though. Thankfully, life got really good really fast and it was so rewarding after that tough year. I truly cannot pinpoint why I felt the way I did, but I guess that’s a good sign—I’ve moved on. Here’s to a year of extreme growth and finding yourself.
Hang on tight, we have a lot to catch up on:
High school finally ended after a long winter. You made friends, you lost some, and you were just itching to leave. Spring brought new energy and joy to your life. Cayden was born and he is just the light of your life now. You love being an aunt and taking care of him. You lived each day to its fullest and took the memories as they came, and soon enough, you graduated. It all ended so abruptly, yet you prepared for this and took it in stride. You were celebrated for way too long: graduation, graduation party, your birthday, and pride all within three weeks, but it was so lovely. Your first pride was so fun, it was the most beautiful day and you felt so happy inside. The rest of the summer was amazing—friends, family, and a trip to Hawaii made it great. You soaked up as much sun and time with people you love as you could as you got ready to leave for school. Oh my god I almost forgot. You got bangs (and they were not the kind you wanted.) Figuring out how to style them has been the death of you, but don’t worry, they grew out to curtain bangs by the end of November. Leaving for school sucked btw. The transition was hard, scary, and uncomfortable, but you made it through like you always do and you are so thankful you did. Now you love it at BG just as much as you love home.
College is everything you’d hoped it would be. You wake up, get coffee, go to class, eat, watch movies, see friends, and go to sleep just to do it all over again the next day. You love learning about things you’re really interested in, you literally get to watch movies and talk about it for one of my classes. In another, you talk about pop culture and how much you love Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, literally what could be better? Your favorite place to study on campus is the business building in whatever corner you can find. It has the best lighting and a Starbucks attached to it ;). You have a great little group of friends and you do the stupidest stuff together. You have weekly movie nights, family dinners, go to hockey games, play Among Us like crazy, and had a listening party for Taylor’s new album. You love them so much. You also love my roommate and our cozy little room as well, it is the perfect place to be. You’re in a journalism club too! How funny! Never thought you’d be here, but you absolutely love writing for Her Campus and all of the beautiful women you have met through the group. You’ve really strengthened your writing and you’re working on a few papers that you can hopefully get published in the near future. Oh and guess what: you’ve been so lucky enough to see all of your favorite artists in the span of a year. Conan Gray, Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Styles, Ella Jane, and now Taylor Swift next June. You somehow managed to survive the Great Ticketmaster War of 2022 and have Taylor seats for your birthday :) You also reached your reading goal of 30 books this year and are still going strong. Your favorite was definitely Daisy Jones & The Six or Body Grammar. Your favorite movies have been Don’t Worry Darling and The Grand Budapest Hotel, and your favorite T.V. shows have been The Handmaid’s Tale and Stranger Things season 4. You’re currently watching Wednesday and I’m pretty sure that will make the list of favorites too when you’re finished.
And hey, don’t worry about leaving home too much, you see your family every couple of weeks anyways. You practically call Mom every day and see Dad when he pops in the screen. Cayden is getting so big and he is just the most fun to play with. He’s almost one! The dogs are great and you get the best greeting whenever you come home, they wiggle and awoo at you as soon as you walk through the door. Grant and Jake love you so much and your relationship with them is even better than before, watching them play hockey has been a highlight recently. Oh and Aunt Susan came home…again! A record three times this year! It has been so fulfilling to spend so much time with her and there may be a trip to Spain with her and Neal in the spring being planned, so fingers crossed that happens!!! All in all, this is the most content you have felt in life in a really long time and you finally feel like you’re gaining your sense of self back. It hasn’t felt like this in years.
Life is different, but in a really good way. It has made you see the world in a different light, and realize not everything is so small and you have so much ahead of you. You have done so much growing this year and I am so proud of you. I can’t wait to see what next year has in store for you and I will be here for every step of the way.
I love you,
Grace