Dear myself,
Congratulations! You made it through the “best four years of your life,” and you’re finally about to be a high school graduate. These past four years you’ve made friends, you’ve lost friends, you’ve made hundreds of memories, you’ve laughed a million times and probably cried a little bit on the way, as well. You’ve grown mentally, emotionally and physically; but let me just tell you, the growing doesn’t stop here.
These past four years have been full of memories and lessons that I know you will never forget. From making music videos about a historical event in your freshman year history class, dissecting a frog in sophomore biology, memorizing a 10-minute historical speech in your junior year speech class, to writing your senior research paper that determined if you graduate or not. Or when you came to high school as a freshman and you were terrified of getting lost or tripping up the stairs in front of all of the senior guys (it happens, it’s OK), to watching your boy’s basketball team win states your sophomore year, to going on an unforgettable mission trip your junior year, or when you cheered your last varsity football game your senior year. The memories go on and on.
This last year flew by especially fast, which made it more memorable. Every morning you went to school with the same carpool that you had for the majority of high school and every afternoon you walked out to your car thanking God that you were finally out of school for the day. You were counting down the days till graduation, but now that it’s here, I know you’re kind of hesitant and nervous about all of it ending. You grew up here, this is your home. But please know that there is nothing wrong with being nervous or scared about everything that’s about to happen. You’re moving out, going to college and about to become an adult, whatever that means. This summer will be dedicated to spending as much time as you can with your friends and family before you start a new chapter in your life.
Saying goodbye to everyone will be hard and leaving your childhood home will be even harder, but college is the most incredible and best thing that will ever happen to you. You’ll meet so many incredible people that you know will be in your life for a long time, and you’ll learn even more about yourself than you ever thought you would have. The first few weeks will be hard; you’ll get a little emotional when you talk on the phone with your mom or when you see pictures of your friends while they’re at their own colleges. But this will get better, and you will find yourself adjusting just fine.
In a few days, you’ll put on your cap and gown and look in the mirror and think to yourself, “How the hell did I get here?” Life is a long novel; graduation is just a chapter about to end while college is a new chapter about to begin. You think that senior year was fast, just wait until how fast your freshman year of college will go by. Be open minded, have a positive attitude and let life take its course; you just might surprise yourself.
Congratulations, and I can’t wait for you to get to college.
Love,
Yourself.
