Dear College Freshmen,

Nobody is lying when they tell you that these are some of the best times in your life, trust me. College is the time for truly discovering yourself and learning more new things than you ever thought possible. If i could give you a piece of two-word advice it would be 'enjoy it'.

Enjoy meeting new people, enjoy figuring out what it is that you are passionate about, enjoy your independence. Have fun being able to eat whatever you want and being able to go see your friends whenever you feel like it because they live write down the hall. Just have fun, because eventually the newness of college will fade and you will want it back.

Speaking of social life, your friends will change. The cool kid you met during welcome week might not even talk to you come Thanksgiving, and that's okay. You are going to meet so many people throughout college who won't care about what happened to you in high school. Start with a clean slate, but keep the relationships that are most important to you from before college. Keep the people you can count on, and say goodbye to the people you cant. It might hurt hurt for a while, but you'll meet someone better along the way, I promise.

Classes in college are definitely super different from classes in high school. But don't worry, it won't be a huge shock to you because there will be one high school class that you took that will prepare you very well for the world of higher education. I think this is because college classes are all about pushing you to reach your full potential, and we can all remember a teacher who did that for us in high school. My top words of wisdom for college academic life are, study hard, plan, ask for help, and remember to breathe. Your professors want you to succeed and they can be your biggest resource, so don't be afraid to ask them for help or advice. Don't shy away from changing your major because you don't enjoy it. Your career is for the rest of your life, so its crucial to be happy with it. It's okay to change your mind as many times as it takes (I'm a junior and starting on my third major).

Just remember that college is only new and exciting once and embrace that. If you don't, you'll regret it.

Sincerely,

A nostalgic upperclassman