To My Freshman Self,
Spoiler alert: you survived freshman year to write this letter. Hard to believe, right? I’ll try my best to keep the spoilers to a minimum in this letter, but I just had to get that one out. There’s one other thing I should get out there too: This year is going to be hard. You’re basically starting over, and as refreshing as that is, it can also be really scary. As you make your way through this first year of college, there are a few things you should know…
First, this will take time. You don’t just move to a new city and start living on your own without a learning curve, trust me. I know you’re used to doing everything on your own and being independent, but you don’t always have to be a hero. Call mom, she misses you, and as crazy as it sounds she actually kind of knows what she’s doing sometimes, so you don’t always have to go it alone. This year will not be perfect. Your classes will be hard, and you won’t get those straight A’s you’re used to. You will build great relationships only to lose them. You will experience rejection and heartbreak, and things will not always go the way you planned them, because that’s just not how life works. So, hear me when I say: It’s okay. You will be okay.
Second, things will change. Change is inevitable, and while I know how much you love to control things, sometimes you just can’t. With immense change, comes immense growth. The things that happen to you this year will change you and set the stage for the rest of your life. You will change your opinions, thoughts, feelings and major roughly a hundred times, and here’s another spoiler: You better get used to it, because that won’t stop after your freshman year. My advice to you? Embrace the change. Regardless of how painful or difficult it may be, let that change lead you in a different direction to newer, better things. I mean it when I say that the best is yet to come.
And finally, you need to let that sh*t go and live a little. Will bad things happen? Always. But you can’t spend this entire year moping about it and feeling sorry for yourself. You have to let go of your fears and inhibitions and just get out there. Meet new people, try new things, and dare I say it, forget the haters. You can’t please everyone, so you might as well learn that now. Your freshman year will be miserable if you spend it trying to be someone that you’re not. You aren’t who everyone wants you to be. You’re you, and trust me, the people who try to tell you who you are and how to live have a funny way of leading themselves right out of your life. And the people who you really need in your life? They always come walking through the door when you least expect it, and better yet, they stick around.
Above all else, please know this: You are exactly where you’re supposed to be. Don’t expect yourself to be perfect because you’re not. Don’t expect yourself to have it all figured out because, if you do life right, you never will. Free yourself from the idea that you always have to do more, say more, or be more. You are, and always have been, enough. I promise you that your future is brighter than anything you ever could’ve imagined, and your adventure is only beginning. Keep fighting the good fight, and don’t you dare give up.
Love Always,
Lauren