Dear incoming freshmen,

There are three important pieces of advice that I wish I had gotten before I started at The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. Those three are: be the author of your own story, pursue your passion and don't forget to take care of your own mind, body and spirit.

1. Author of your own story

There are many movies, books and experiences that you may have seen or heard of that create a perception of what college is like. The key word there is that it is just a perception. Your experience does not have to be like someone else's experience and don't beat yourself up if yours is not like the things you have seen. Nine times out of 10 it will be different. I came into college thinking I will make friends super easily and do stellar in my academics just like the movies and my other friends. I was oh so wrong. I let someone else be the author of this chapter and it drove me insane because I was constantly comparing. As soon as I took control of my own hands and decided to be the author of my own story - everything changed. Now I was in charge and nobody else's experience would dictate what mine would be like.

2. Pursue your passion

Doctor, doctor, doctor. My entire middle and high school years were spent seeking out opportunities to pursue what I thought was my "passion." This passion was not stemmed from my yearning rather it was stemmed from my family's history of cancer and the tabloids I read on how being a doctor is the best profession you can go into. It was not until I was way down south in Honduras that I realized I hated waking up at 5 a.m. for medical brigade days. However, I would be the first one up for the public health days and that is what made me realize that I had been pursuing an outside passion for a while and neglecting what I really wanted to do. You are going to be responsible for waking yourself up every morning and going to work one day. Wake yourself up with a sense of purpose and passion rather than dread and hopelessness.

3. Mind, body and spirit

Balancing those three things will determine how well you can be the author of your story and how well you will be able to pursue your passion. It is so important to help yourself and put your mental well-being first before you can learn to help others and create connections with other people. I failed all three of these aspects and the impact was not okay on me. I struggled a lot. If only I had kept my faith closer, given my mental health full attention and paid attention to what my body was saying - I would have been much better. However, I can't go back and change things but I can certainly advise on my failures so that someone else doesn't do the same things I did and work on taking care of myself now because it is never too late.

Sincerely,

A second-year student