Dear Incoming Freshman at Endicott,

So you are a little scared. Maybe even terrified. You and your parents approach campus with the car filled floor to ceiling with every thing you own. You just drove by the ocean, telling your dad to "just slow down a little bit". You wanted to take in the sparkling blue waters and the last moments before you are officially a college freshman. The car pulls in to the front gate where you were greeted by enthusiastic upperclassman dressed head to toe in blue and green. They are yelling and screaming to welcome you to what we call the nest. Butterflies take flight within your entire body and a smile grows on your face. This is it.

You pull up to your dorm and you are approached with even more smiles. 183,465 trips back and forth from the car, and you're finally unpacked. The family Christmas card and the picture of you and the friends you have had since you were three years old hang above your bed. You hug your mom goodbye and let out all the tears you have been holding back since you woke up that morning. It's all too real now.

Remember, you are about to love this school as much as each and every one of those crazy people you saw when you arrived. And it will only take about 24 hours.

When you arrive at Endicott College, you are not just entering a college campus. You are entering a community, a family, and the rest of your life. From the Lower Callahan shenanigans to Doc Wiley's Barbeques, it all adds up to make the perfect freshman year. Every where you go, you will begin to meet new friends that soon will be more than just a familiar face.

As a freshman, I thought I knew exactly what I was in for...I was so wrong.

I thought I was gonna be homesick forever and want to go home to my own town with everyone I know. Little did I know, that was only about to last a week.

I thought my dorm room would always feel like four white walls I was living in for just 8 months. Little did I know, Stoneridge 205 housed memories I will have for a lifetime.

I thought the overwhelming course load would take over my life. Little did I know, the LSB Classrooms and Halle Library became a comforting home for those late nights fueled by Einstein's coffee.

I thought I was going to have a couple of good friends, but would never find anyone like my hometown girls. Little did I know, I was about to find 8 girls I could not picture my life without.

While I begin my sophomore year at Endicott, I look back at all of the memories I made in my first year and can do nothing but smile. No matter what mistakes I made, it was all a learning experience. There were laughs, and there were tears, but it the end it was all about the days that were going by and how I was spending them.

Those butterflies pulling into campus? They still exist a year later. However it's not due to the nerves, but for the excitement year two holds.

Welcome to the nest baby gulls. I hope you're ready.

Sincerely,

A Sophomore Wishing She Could Relive Year 1