1. Eat as many home cooked meals as you can
Dining hall food is limited, and you can get sick of it very easily. Some dining hall food is also not 'enjoyable'. I did not realize how much I appreciated home cooked meals until I moved into school. Since the dining hall is cooking for hundreds of people, they make the same (if not similar) foods every day. There is not much variety so eat as many home cooked meals as you can before you move away.
2. Don't stress if you do not receive letters right away
A good friend recently told me he was very stressed out because he had not received any acceptance letters yet. College admissions teams read hundreds, if not thousands of acceptance letters each year. It takes time for them to go through each of these applications which is why we all hear back from schools at different times. It is ok if you are not the first out of your friends to receive acceptance letters. When you begin to receive your letters, make sure you cherish every minute of it. Acceptance letters all come at different times so you just have to sit back and relax until the day you've been hoping for arrives. After all, it is ok to receive your letter after your friends because as many people say, 'they save the best for last'.
3. You aren't going to be a failure if you decide to take a year off
I think in today's society people are quick to judge when it comes to people's decisions pertaining to college. All schools these days are outrageously expensive and many are difficult to get into. If you aren't ready for college straight out of high school, it is ok to take time off and weigh your decisions. In my opinion, kids who take a year off to work or do other things are smart. If you aren't ready to go to college, don't waste the money on it. If you are not going to be academically motivated then it is smart to wait until you feel that you are ready to go to college. Doing what makes you happy is what matters the most.
4. It's okay if you haven't picked a major
It is perfectly fine for a person at the age of 17 or 18 to not know what they would like to major in. Deciding what you think you want to do for the rest of your life can be challenging and even a bit crazy to think about. Many adults still don't even know what they want to do, so it is normal for a teenager to be facing the same challenge. There is such a wide variety of majors that you can pick from, so it can be a very hard decision. Don't be embarrassed to check off the 'undeclared' box when it comes to choosing your major. Go into your freshman year and take a variety of different classes, because this might help you find a major that you'll love. College is a perfect time and place for you to find yourself, go in there with a clear and open mind and do great things.
5. Hang out with your parents
You are most likely spending every waking moment with your closest friends, but don't forget to leave some time for your parents. Even though you might not realize it right now, you are going to miss your parents once you move to school. You won't realize how much you miss them until you are gone, so make sure that you leave time for them. Once you start to get into the swing of things at school, you will be wishing that you were back at home eating dinner and spending time with your parents. You won't just miss them, they are going to miss you like crazy too.
6. Take that extra long shower
Your parents might yell at you for taking very long showers, but do it anyway. Once you begin showering at school in the communal bathroom, you will wish you were back at home in your own bathroom taking a shower. Don't take the hot water, good pressure, and clean shower stalls for granted. Also appreciate the fact that you don't have to wear flip flops while showering, it's just not the same once you're away at school.
7. Enjoy all of the little things
Go out to dinner with your parents, go to your sibling's sports games, go to school dances, and go to your school's sports games. If you don't take advantage of going to these things, you're going to regret it. Even if you have homework or studying, make the time to go. Whether you get along with the kids in your grade or not, go to these events and be social. When you are checking your Instagram feed next September, you will by dying to see what these people are doing with their lives. College is a completely different game and it will be a big adjustment.
8. Enjoy every minute of your senior year
Senior year flies by and I wish that I could do it all over again. Spend time with friends and family, but also have fun. Senior year closes one part of your book, and then opens new pages to some of the best years of your life. Take chances and live with no regrets. When you're sitting in your dorm room on a Wednesday night, you will want to look back on all of the awesome things you did and risks you took. You won't want to be thinking about what could have been.
To the high school senior:
-Enjoy every moment that you have at home until you leave for school
-Choose the college that will make you happy, don't worry about what other people think.
-Don't wish for senior year to fly by, take it all in one second at a time and enjoy it.
