Dear Freshman me,
You’re young, grabbing life by the horns and looking at the world through a lens that sees foreign grounds as something desperate to be conquered.
You got used to the routine, nauseated by the mundane, and now you’re ready for the rest of this big, foreign and exciting place.
But things are so different now — the air is thick with unfamiliarity.
The streets are filled with unknown faces and the road signs you learned at 16 now say words you don’t know how to pronounce.
Finding proper footing on unexplored grounds will never be easy, but it has been done by many and you are beyond capable of accomplishing even the impossible.
In the next few years, you’re going to learn more than just street signs — you’re going to become the person you were always meant to be.
You’re going to find a fire in your throat, a rather loud and powerful one, but one you’ll be proud to call your voice.
You’re going to meet a lot of unforgettable people, some will move you with their unwavering loyalty and selfless souls. Others will break your heart when you learn that their embrace was always accompanied by a knife to your back.
They will label you with terms you will give no weight to and you’ll realize that knowing yourself is where genuine victory lies.
You’ve certainly made mistakes, but it’s important to recognize that this is what aids us in becoming a better version of ourselves. They solidify the thin lines between right and wrong and steer our wheel back on the paths we were meant to be on.
Your inner transformation never stops and neither does that of your environment, but acknowledging how painfully temporary everything is will be something to be grateful for.
The ultimate goal has never been money, a surplus of friends, or anything you thought you valued as a child. The ultimate goal is to live a life enriched by experiences that we can look back on and be proud of.
So, I ask of you, the younger, more naive, and vulnerable version of myself, to keep this goal in mind with every decision you make.
Remember that making mistakes is part of the healing process and that the bruises simply give the fall a bit of color.
Remember that the world is, and always will be, that big, foreign, exciting place and that the only thing about it that’s really changing is your ever-evolving perception of it.
We’re going to be so many different people throughout our life and I know each and every single one of them is going to make us proud.
With love,
Emily
