Hello Beautiful,

The winter break is drawing to a close, which means a new semester is on the horizon! I know you're excited beyond words, and why wouldn't you be? You're going to do great! I thought there were a couple things I should talk to you about though, before we start kicking major academic butt:

Cute school supplies are great, but what matters more is how you use them. So before you go nuts on amazon, make sure you actually need the things you're buying, otherwise they'll end up sitting in your house for an undisclosed period of time because we both know you can't throw away anything that's less than completely used (looking at you, glitter notebooks from freshman year).

Aim High. You're capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for.

Do you, boo boo. You got a little caught up doing things for and with everyone else last semester, and as a result your grades suffered. This is your friendly reminder that while yes, friends are important, your friends aren't going to medical school for you, and it's completely okay to step back and do what's right for you. Going pre-med was never promised to be easy, but you know what you need to do in order to have all these sacrifices paid off. Anyone who matters will understand why you skipped those nights at The Jolly Fox, or that day trip to nowhere, which brings me to my next point;

Study like your life depends on it. Please. If nothing else, I'm begging you, do not give up your study time for spontaneous activities. You did that a LOT last semester and as a result are really unhappy with yourself. You made a mess of things, and while it's not something we can't fix, it is something that doesn't need to happen again. Like, ever.

Make time for the gym. Between work, your new sisters, school, the student organizations you've joined and being a pet parent, you were either A) too busy or B) too tired to go to the gym last semester. It's cool dude. It happens.. with poor planning. Schedule some time in your life (aka your planner) to go to the gym for at least 20-30 min a few times a week. Do it for your health, do it for your sanity, and do it for anyone who interacts with you on a daily basis. You're not you when you don't work out.

Lastly, visit your mother. Being 4 hours from home is hard on both of you. Make some time to go home, recharge, and spend quality time with her.

Bearing all this in mind, I bid you to go forth into this new semester, and be the best you possibly can be. If you take care of yourself and your obligations, everything else will fall into place. Utilize your planner, your common sense, and the word "no", to make this semester one of the best of your college career.

Love,

You.