Dear Freshman Fangirls and Fanboys,

Do not leave your books at home. Do not forget about your fandoms and followers. Do not abandon your worlds.

Just because you're entering college, does not mean you have to stop being you.

Entering college I thought I had to leave it all behind. My every night of the week shows, my beloved books, my entire fangirl life. I thought nobody else obsessed over The Flash like I do. Nobody talks about Captain America as if he's actually real. Nobody my age watched the entire ten seasons of Smallville in the summer of their junior year. No, nobody else did that. So going to college I abandoned all of it. It broke my heart. Leaving the worlds and memories behind felt like I wasted so much energy and time, but I knew I hadn't because that was something I loved. It all made me confused. I had no means of reinventing myself but I assumed others did not go to the extremes like I did. How wrong I was.

Little did I know that my own roommate would bring an entire crate of books, many that I have read myself. I never imagined my friend down the hall would ask to go to dinner early because his show, The Flash, was coming on at 8. I couldn't believe when I listened to someone praise Captain America like I did.

So to one fangirl to another, keep on fangirling. Bring your crates of books to school. Bring your hundreds of chick-flick and superhero movies. Go to the midnight releases. Don't think because you're entering a new chapter of life means you must forget the old one. Leaving it behind will break your heart. It will confuse you and make you forget what makes your happiness reality. Believe it or not, it's harder to rediscover the worlds you left behind since they continued on without you. I was amazed by how many people fangirled over the series that I worshiped. Shocked at how many people also freaked out when the new trailers for upcoming movies dropped.

I ask you to not let it all go but bring it with you and most importantly, show the other fangirls and boys that you're along side of them. Hang the posters, talk about the series, go crazy over the movies. You will discover even more of us fangirls/fanboys, and you will find the people who aren't aware of this life that awaits them. Stay up to date with the fandoms, even when everything else is piling up. Even if it is only a quick peek in, it's more than ignoring it completely. Being a fangirl/fanboy is literally a Horcrux. This awesome life is apart of you.

Being a fangirl/boy is what makes you, you. It's actually the best part of you. Don't forget that.

Sincerely,

A girl who became lost without her worlds.