Dear Freshman Self:
I know you are practically scared out of your mind right now. You just said your goodbyes to your parents, who you’ve spent every day with until this very moment. Right now, you are thinking your whole world is about to change and that you will be completely stripped out of your comfort zone. Well, guess what? You are right. But let me tell you something: that’s not a bad thing. What you don’t realize just yet is that the next four years of your life will make you into the woman you were always meant to be. It will make you into someone who you currently look up to now.
You will laugh, cry, be discouraged, contemplate quitting school and meet people who will feel like they’ve been in your life since before college. All of these things and more are what will help you grow and realize that the girl you are now isn’t going to be anything like the girl you will be in four years. In four years, you will have the power to crawl out of your little shell, become strong-minded, unafraid and able to stand up for yourself when anyone puts you down.
As you are navigating these next four years, you need to remember a few things. First, you need to keep your head up. Things have the ability to go completely wrong, especially while you’re in college. You might fail a class, do something really embarrassing over a crazy weekend or lose touch with a friend you thought was very close to you. But you can’t let these things get to you in the long run. At the end of the day, what’s done is done and instead of pouting about the past or the present, think ahead and focus on your future.
Second, understand that the people who were meant to be in your life will stay in your life. It’s normal to lose touch with those people you thought were your friends in high school and that’s okay. The ones that stick around are the ones that were truly meant to be there in the first place. Plus, you will meet some pretty cool people in college who will have the ability to change your life for the better.
Third, don’t let people think that they can step all over you just because you’re “young and naive.” Sure, you are pretty young, but it’s not fair to be called naive when you’re just a freshman in college. Instead, you’re growing, experimenting and searching for who you are meant to be. You need to stand tall and prove to people that you can stand up for yourself. In order to do this, you need to show your strength to the world. Don’t give people the chance to call you out on your weakness because that just wouldn’t be fair. You are a strong woman and you need to embrace that everywhere you go.
Lastly, soak it all in. One day, you are going to think back on all the memories you are about to create and feel an overwhelming amount of nostalgia. You will smile when you think about how easy things were back then and how you wish it would be that simple now.
So, instead of feeling sad about saying goodbye to your parents in your dorm room, get out there and brace yourself for these next four years. It’s going to be great.