To any second semester high school senior,
Hey! You have almost made it to graduation! I am sure you think you just finished the best 4 years of your life and I am sure you are ready to get to college, right?????? Well, as a second semester college senior, I am here to tell you DON’T WISH YOUR TIME AWAY.
Going to college has been one of the most remarkable experiences. You think high school was the best four years of your life? Just wait…..college is 100 times better.
Pretty soon, you will be packing up your room, leaving only memories behind. You will be hugging your parents goodbye. Don’t take for granted everything they ever did for you. You wouldn’t be on your way to the beginning of your new life without their help.
“See you later” will gain a whole new meaning. Instead of seeing your parents at the end of everyday, it might be 3 months before you see them again.
All your high school friends may or may not be there when you return home next, so hug them tight before you go. Your true friends will continue to text and call you every day. The rest will just slip into your memory as someone that you used to know.
Don’t be afraid of this new journey ahead.
The freedom is nice…..but there is going to come a time where you are going to miss having your parents cook dinner for you. You are going to miss having your laundry cleaned and folded for you. You are going to miss “being a kid.” (Thank your parents when these moments come for giving you more than you deserved).
^^^ Good news though….there are A TON of other people in your same exact situation so YOU ARE NOT ALONE. College is your time to shine and find yourself. I will be the first to say, it isn’t always going to be easy. You are going to have some really tough days. Missing home. Feeling lonely. Heart broken. Sad. Hurt. Trying to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life, but there are SO MANY good things that are going to come your way, that all those bad days won’t cut as deep as they used to.
You are going to make some incredible friends that may one day turn into your bridesmaids/groomsmen and maybe even your husband or wife. These friendships will become your support system away from home. Trust in them. Pour into them. Love on them. These people will be the people that you will still call in 30 years just to catch up or get together to hang out with your families. You will need these friends. I promise you will.
GET INVOVLED. Put yourself out of your comfort zone and get invovled in something you thought you never would. This is a great way to meet people and feel apart of something. Why sit at home (oops, I mean in your dorm) alone when you could be out doing something FUN! College is about finding yourself and exploring new things and ideas. You will not grow if you stay in the 2ft. by 2ft. comfort zone that you have created for yourself. You will never know until you try!! This is the time to try new things. This is the time to fail. This is the time to be challenged. Just do it.
Take a lot of pictures. When you’re about to graduate, there will be a lot of moments of nostalgia and it is so fun to look back and reminisce on your freshman days of college. You may even catch yourself saying, “Man, I wish I could go back and do it all over again.” It is amazing to look back and see how much you have grown. Whether you knew it in the moment or not, you were transforming into the person you dreamed of being. Every decision you make shapes who you become, so make every decision count.
Make a difference everyday. Go out and change the world. Celebrate the little things. Laugh until you cry. Be a better version of yourself every day. Remember waking up in the same house as your best friend. Remember all the Friday nights that turned into Saturday mornings. Hold on tight to all your best friends. Let go of the people who don’t matter anymore. One day, you will wake up and you will have 4 years ahead of you. One day, you will wake up and suddenly 3 years has turned into 1. One day, you will wake up and realize that in 3 months, everything is about to change.
And then one day, you will be ordering your cap and gown, about to jump straight into the real world. Classes will turn into a job. Homework will turn into paperwork. Classmates will turn into co-workers. Professors will turn into bosses.
You will once again be saying goodbye to friends and friends that turned into family. You may never know when you will see them again, but you know if your friendship is true, you will still call/text/see them all the time.
You will once again be packing up your room, leaving only memories behind.
These years go fast, but you are just beginning.
Sincerely,
A second semester college senior
Good Ole Opal 