Dear Future Me,

Here are some of the things that I want to say to my future self as I enter college for the first time. These next four years are important, and I just hope that at the end of it all I look back and can say I was successful and that I enjoyed myself.

I hope that you never over work yourself. There is a balance between school life and social life, and I hope you find that. I hope you made so many friends during this experience that you will keep for a lifetime. I hope you see your name on the Dean's list every semester. I hope you take pride in every paper you have to write. Most of all, I hope you get over your fear of talking to people and just do it. Which means you have to get out of your dorm every once in a while.

I hope this is a great experience for you. I am sure you have worked so hard these past four years, and I am sure that you seized every opportunity that was ever presented to you. You should be proud of yourself. I have no doubt in my mind that you will reach every goal you set while you are here.

High school went by so fast, and I think a large part of that is because you wanted it to be over. You were tired of the people and the way you were treated like a child but expected to act like an adult. It was repetitive and sometimes completely boring. You have been ready for college and the independence for a while now, so take full advantage of it.

I want you to learn from your experience in high school and understand that this is different. Do not rush these four years because when they are over, you will miss it. You will miss it more than high school; I promise. I hope your professors and instructors are pleasant in every class you have to take. Maybe you will even develop friendships and begin to network while still in college.

I assume that there will be times that you struggled with a test or maybe even a whole class. I believe that you will be able to get through it, and at the end of it all, you wonder why you were even stressed out about it. Things definitely will not be easy all the time by any means, but you will find out that it will most likely pass and you will always be able to get through it.

I expect that when I look back on all the memories and friends that I made that I will be happy with it all. That is the most important part of it all if I am not happy then this is a waste of time.

As I sit at commencement I hope to look out into the crowd and see all of my classmates around me just as happy as I am. Those will be the people that endured this experience with me. We will have faced the same challenges and struggles and most importantly we will have gotten through it all.

I hope that we all have the privilege to look back on the memories we made and say to ourselves that this was all worth it. I hope we can all say that we are proud of ourselves because I know that I will be proud.

Love,

Freshman You