Freshman Year,

To be honest I wasn’t always your biggest fan…in fact first semester kind of sucked if I’m being honest. I didn’t follow the cliché advice to “get involved,” I didn’t have a “froomie,” and I was homesick pretty much all the time. I felt alone and even considered transferring because I thought there was no way I was meant to spend four years in Champaign if it was this terrible.

Toward the end of winter break, my mom brought up the option of transferring…I thought about it and turned her down. Being a legacy student, I wasn’t ready to give up the Illini dream and decided to give the University of Illinois another shot for second semester. Being as stubborn as I am, I was determined not to give in despite all the curve balls you threw my way.

The beginning of second semester was much the same as first and I began to lose hope…how did anyone say that college was the best years of their life? Some time passed and spring break approached, and after coming back to campus everything began to turn around. I stopped trying to hold on so tightly to my relationships at home and as soon I let go, my life at school filled up with new people and opportunities.

Shortly after spring break, I was struck by a mystery illness that kept me at home and in the hospital for a week and even though I was at home, the amount of support I received from friends at school had me dying to come back.

As the end of the year began to approach I started to notice how much I had grown to love you, in fact I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else. Instead of spending my weekends alone missing home, I spent them with friends that are some of the kindest and most fun people I’ve ever met.

Saying goodbye to everyone last week was hard, but I am so thankful to have friends and a campus that are so hard to say goodbye to and I can’t wait to continue my journey at UIUC with sophomore year.

Anyway… thanks for all the memories and everything you taught me about myself.

Love,

Jessi