Dear Graduating Class Of 2017 | The Odyssey Online
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Dear Graduating Class Of 2017

Class of 2017, as you prepare to leave high school, my letter to you, from a college freshman.

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Dear Graduating Class Of 2017
Katie Kelley

As you walk into your high school for the last couple of weeks, don't just think about how good it will feel when you're gone. Remember all the memories from your awkward freshman year to this day. Look at your friends as you walk down the hall and remember the feeling of safety like no one can touch you.

You're going to loose friends. But you're going to find better ones.

The summer after you graduate is amazing, don't get me wrong. But most likely, that is the last time you will be with the same group of friends that you never could imagine growing apart from. Time will pass by faster than you know and it will be time to leave. You may grow apart but the friendships that await you are worth it. Don't forget your friends from high school, but remember that there will be new ones.

You're going to leave home. But you're going to find a new one.

Leaving home is hard for everyone. Going across the country to just being a couple hours away, home will always be home. Cherish your moms cooking, the smell of clean sheets, having tons of room to keep all your things and being around people you feel comfortable with. When you leave, its going to feel good for a while, like a new beginning. You will miss eventually miss home as you realize that you are slowly making a new home. A home where you feel comfortable and love. There is always a home to go back to, no matter how far away.

You're going to be in college. But life won't be just be a big party.

College isn't all frat parties and how many games of beer pong can you play. On top of being on your own, running your own schedule and keeping yourself from not laying in bed all day, you have to feed yourself, go to class, be social, sleep (enough to not fall asleep in class) and study (enough to not fail). Going out is so much fun in college but it is not all you should do. Right now, your older friends may send you snapchats of them 'living the life' as they drink the night away but trust me, they are secretly stressing about the exam they have at 8am tomorrow.

In a few months as you walk across that stage and shake your principles hand, pick your head up and smile big. The next chapter of your life will be hard.

You are almost there. Take everything with a grain of salt. Soak everything up, things are going to change and everything is about change so much. Create memories that will last a life time.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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