No one realizes as a college freshman how jealous the upperclassmen are of them. Freshman year is a time of self-discovery like no other, and I would love to live it again the way it should be lived. 

I remember the first time someone told me they were jealous of the fact I was a freshman. It came from my Deacon Camp Leader who was a sophomore at the time, and I think my jaw just about hit the floor. A year later, however, after having done all my "firsts" at Wake Forest, I see his point. There is nothing in the world as sweet as your first year of college. Please embrace it, because you'll never get this year back. 

I'll start with the advice I gave my own Deacon Campers. Don't be afraid to let Mother, So Dear become your home. After a huge move and the ever-present feeling of displacement associated with it, I felt like I would never be able to call another place home. But Wake Forest became my home in the time when I so desperately needed one. My friends became my family away from my nuclear family, and second semester, my sisters even more so. Don't be afraid to love this place with all your heart. There is not another place like it on the globe, and as Dr. Ed Wilson, aka "Mr. Wake Forest" says: "You will now be linked with Wake Forest forever." It will always be here for you whenever you need to return, whether you're 19 or 91. 

Next, don't be afraid to be exactly the person you want to be. You are not in high school anymore; you have no part of your former life proceeding you like you did for 13 years. You can do what you want, you can say what you want. It's COOL to be smart here. It's COOL to be passionate here. And we are such a strong community BECAUSE everyone is smart and passionate in different areas. Don't be afraid to follow your dreams; don't be afraid to be a pioneer. 

Last, I beg you to fall in love with as many things and people as you can, and I don't necessarily mean this in the romantic sense of the word. Fall in love with a class you've never taken. Fall in love with Reynolda Gardens. Or with the quad. Or both. Fall in love with the way the carillon sounds every day at five. Fall in love with your fight song and alma mater. Fall in love with Wake Forest athletics. Or the music department. Or both. Fall into a great group of friends. Or fall in love with a significant other. Or both. Or all of the above. Because you can do that here, and we WANT you to do that here. 

I am not afraid to admit that I am jealous of all of you and experiencing the newness of this wonderful place. But even so, my own love for Wake Forest continues to grow and will never end. I hope you Baby Deacons in the Class of 2018 and all classes afterward will come to share my love, and share it with others when I am gone from this place. Remember to be yourself, fall in love over and over again, and feel like you belong here. 

Welcome to Wake Forest, you're already home.