An open letter to the student about to embark on their freshman year of college,

I truly hate to start off on a slightly negative note, but I must warn you that nothing can truly prepare you for college. Those dual credit classes you took, the numerous cards full of graduation money you received, the fresh bedsheets you bought. While all these things will sincerely help, nothing will make you feel prepared for what is to come in this new chapter of your life.

College is a different type of intense, in all aspects. Your academic career, if it wasn’t already, will become your absolute main focus. There will be some classes where you only get a midterm and a final, and that’s your class grade. You will study like never before, sleep less, and stress more. There will be a lot, and I mean a lot of pressure put on you.

Everyone around you appears to be in a relationship, in a student organization and getting an internship. If we are being honest, this can be really intimidating. But just know this is your first year away from home, and while being independent and living on your own for the first time is beyond exciting, it’s also beyond scary. So don’t feel like you have to rush anything.

Be single. Try out different organizations before committing to one or two. Take the time to plan your schedule, and by all means, put yourself first. I am not saying become arrogant and selfish, but no one is going to remind you to eat lunch, shower, exercise, or get a decent amount of sleep. You have to carve out time and do these things for yourself. Health is important, and while school seems to be coating your lenses, prohibiting you from seeing literally anything else, you are still there underneath all those textbooks and empty coffee cups, and you have to take care of that precious human.

College is also intense in the aspect of love. No this isn’t a trick, I’m not talking about LOVE 205 from 1:50-2:40, I am talking about a deep, all consuming love that I didn’t know existed before entering my University. Being away from home is hard, but it makes you appreciate your family that much more. It makes you see what all your parents truly did for you, how much time you actually spent with them, and how much you miss them. It makes the phone calls and letters so sweet, and it opens your eyes to how deep and how hard you love your parents and siblings. Sometimes, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Nothing has shown me the endurance of love quite like experiencing my parents love me from outside of their home.

As your first semester gets going, you will develop a friend group. But they will be so much more than that. They will be your community. They will be who you eat almost every single meal with, go to football games with, study with, laugh with, you will all have movie nights and game nights, and you will catch yourself singing at the top of your lungs in a vehicle full of people you can’t imagine ever living without again. There will be people who you go to church with, who comfort you at one in the morning when you just can’t seem to stop crying, who take you to the doctor, and who encourage you with their deep love and reassuring presence. College friendship has been one of the biggest blessings in my life, and I didn’t even see it coming.

Sometimes, the best things in life are the things we didn’t plan for, the things we didn’t expect to happen. While agendas are nice, allow yourself to run wild. Go on those midnight adventures, say yes to ice cream in the morning just because you can, and hold on tight for all of the unexpected smiles this time in your life will bring you. Yes, college is difficult, and it can push your boundaries, but nothing ever grows while it’s comfortable. College will bring growth and love, despite all of the hardships that come with it. Whatever you may think you know about college is great, but just know that all of the things that are unexpected are what will really take your breath away.

Sincerely,

No longer a college freshman