To the incoming college freshman,

The first thing I want to tell you is to forget everything that you think you know about college because it never turns out how you expect.

From just completing my first year as a college student, it is best to not go in with any expectations and just take college for what it is, the most difficult, most challenging, most exciting time of your life. College will be the first time in your life that you will be living on your own and taking control over your life. It is on you to wake up in time for class, to do your own laundry, and take care of yourself without anyone constantly checking on you.

The first couple of weeks will be challenging from roommates to classes,to course load, to just figuring out what it is like to go to a school that you haven't for the past 13 or so years of your life.

IT IS NOT EASY.

So don't freak out when it feels that everything is happening at once and that you might fail. Take a step back, take a deep breath, and restart. College is the time for you to reboot, no one knows who you are or who you have been. These next four years will be the chance for you to create your own identity.

If you where a C student, you can become an A student. You can go from uninvolved in high school to super involved in college.

From my own experience of bad roommates, tough class load, struggling to make friends and finding where you fit in, you just have to stay positive.

I'm sure you have read those quotes that talk about how it's all about your attitude and mindset that changes your situation, and have brushed them off. But those quotes are right, your mood does have the biggest impact on whatever situation good or bad.

Staying positive doesn't mean that you have to be happy every single second of the day, but that you find something good in each day. It could be doing well on a test or meeting a new friend. For me, no matter what happened that day, I knew that I could stay positive in having a family who loves and supports me.

Take college each tiny step at a time, from entering into your dorm room to your first class, to meeting new friends and enjoy each moment as they come.

This first year will teach you how to rely on yourself to shape the person you want to be. With complete honesty, sometimes college is just gonna suck, but the other times it will be the best time of your life.

College is about nobody but you. What you want to study, what you want to get involved in, and what opportunities you want to accept or reject. So take advantage of everything that you want to do, join as many clubs that interest you and find the opportunities that will let you grow. Make an effort to talk with your professors, because those are the people that are going to help you the most. They will be the people who will be writing recommendation letters for you, helping you get internships and are people to learn from.

Don't let college pass by, and just go to class and back to your dorm or home. I dare you to say "YES" to every opportunity and make these next four year, four years that you can be proud of.

So the last piece of advice, that I am going to leave you with that my dad told me as I was starting my freshman year was to rely on what got you to college and remember where you're going.

With love,

Your fellow college student