Dear College Freshmen

It is almost time to start your new adventure. And by now, you have probably heard so much advice from everyone and their cousin that if you hear another piece of repetitive advice, you might lose your mind. You have already been told the nuts and bolts. Yes, you are at college for the academic part of it.  And yes, your parents do expect you to study and to pass your classes and shower and do laundry and blah blah blah…  (I know, I’m exhausted just having to type that.) But here’s a little something you may not have heard… Stay up too late playing video games with the guys. Mattress surf down your dormitory stairs. Have a sleepover in your best friend’s room on the night before an 8am. Start a snowball fight that makes you late for class. Drink too much coffee. Eat too much ice cream. Join an intramural sport that you have zero experience in. Sneak a four-week old kitten into a D1 soccer game (yes, it is possible… guilty). Tailgate. Tailgate for the Tailgate. Call your mom often because she will worry that you haven’t done laundry in ten weeks even though it is only the second week of classes. My point is, you are going to remember the moments that almost got you into trouble (or did) more than you will remember the test you took while completely exhausted or the all-nighters spent studying for finals. It is going to be hard. You might have a class that absolutely sucks. But you don’t have to make yourself miserable in the process. Don’t be afraid to have fun and never take yourself too seriously. The friends you are about to make are going to be the friends who make the biggest impact on your life and help you grow as a person. Enjoy the time you have with them and always live in the moment!

Sincerely,
The girl who made it through all of this and is still here to give you advice you didn’t ask for.