You are now finished with the best days of your life. I know you probably roll your eyes at anyone that tells you that but it's true. Ever since we were younger, we would ask ourselves and others, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Our answers would vary and change as we grew older. Time flies and you soon start to realize that you just want life to slow down for one minute. One day you're going to blink your eyes as you're paying the water bill and realize how grown up you actually are.

You will feel alone, indecisive, and vulnerable. This is all apart of the process. You might sit on your dorm bed and cry your eyes out after moving to a school where you don't know a single soul... or you could be thrilled to be at a college with all your closest friends. You might be homesick. You will miss the simplicity of highschool. You are going to miss coming home to a meal that is already being made for you. Get used to having three bowls, a couple forks, and a huge pack of ramen in your kitchen. You are going to miss all of your friends living within a couple miles of your house... hanging out every day turns into FaceTime and catching up whenever you're on break from college.

Some of you are going to take a gap year, some will go straight into the work force, some will go into the military, but manyof you will go on to college. This is now your time to make a name for yourself. Before you go, here's some advice...

1. Experience everything your college has to offer. Join a club, play a sport, step outside your comfort zone, and work on campus. Trying new things will help you be well rounded, which will benefit you in the future.

2. Rate my professor will be your best friend. This site will allow you to see how difficult your professors are, what their assignments are like, and how effective they are at teaching. Trust me, ratemyprofessor.com will help you choose the best professor for you.

3. Travel whenever the opportunity arises. You're starting the hardest part of your life. You have to take out loans, spend more time on your classes, maybe get a job, and do grown up things. This is the best time to explore the world if it's offered to you because you probably won't have the time a few years from now.

4. Keep in contact with your loved ones. Just because there may be a driving distance between you and your family now, doesn't mean you have to distance yourselves completely. Make sure to keep in touch with your loved ones. Your parents probably miss you everyday... they just don't want to annoy you. Make their day and give them a call or better yet, send them a handwritten letter. However, don't spend too much time obsessing over stuff going on back home. This will keep you from making new friends and memories. Look ahead, not backwards.

5. Cherish the last summer you may be spending in your hometown. This is self explanatory. You're going to miss it.

6. Have some 'me' time. Even if you're not doing anything, you're probably going to feel like you should be. Most of the time you'll be busy with so much that having some free time will seem weird. You go through a lot of changes in college. Make sure to spend some time alone every now and then. Organize your thoughts and figure out your life a little more.

7. Go to class. No matter what, just show up. Being there half awake is better than not going at all.

Of course this isn't all the things you need to know, but nothing can truly prepare you for these next 4 years. Have fun and work hard! Hopefully I didn't scare you too much.

Welcome to the next step in your life journey... The real world. Congratulations graduates!

Sincerely,

a college student that was in your position not too long ago