This is it y'all. Your second semester of high school is going to come to an end a lot sooner than you think. I want to give you all realistic advice about college that no one gave me. I hope it helps, and you do not learn the hard way. Either way, you were warned.
1. Make the most of your summer.
As a freshman in college, you will talk about this summer at least once, so make it your best summer. And take a lot of pictures. Your parents will most likely want you to work as much as you can, but please do not waste your summer working. Make last minute decisions to go to the beach. Stay out as late as you can. Have bonfires whenever possible. Travel. Be with your best friends. You will miss them the most.
2. Dorm rooms only look like that on Pinterest.
Pinterest was a life saver when trying to figure out what to pack, pick out my bedding, and what kind of decorations I should get. But do not get too excited when you see those pictures of perfectly decorated dorm rooms; they really don't look like that.
3. Buy a good agenda.
Your planner will become your life when you find out how much work you actually have to do. Make sure you get a planner that helps you be organized. Once you get behind in college, it gets rough. I recommend PlumPaperDesigns on Etsy.
4. Thank your best friends.
There will never be anyone quite like them ever. Missing your friends will probably be the hardest part about this whole college thing (if you had friends as great as mine). No one will ever know you like they did. So thank them for that.
5. THANK YOUR PARENTS.
They are so proud of you no matter what kind of trouble you got into in the past. They will miss you. Just make sure you thank them. Do not wait until you need help with something and finally realize how much you took them for granted.
6. PLEASE, please stop saying "I can't wait to get out of here"
You can wait. When your entire room is packed in boxes that won't fit in the car, when you're done with all the goodbye lunches and dinners with your best friends, and when that countdown app finally reads "two days," all you'll want to do is stay. Yes, you should absolutely be excited to start your new chapter. But do not be so quick to finish the chapter your in right now.
7. You have to do all the work by yourself.
I know this was true of some teachers in high school. They were so awful that you had to teach yourself the textbook. In college, it is all you. Do not be embarrassed to ask for help.
8. Do not take a class that starts at 8 in the morning.
Just don't.
9. High school never ends.
I'm sorry to say this, but there are still shitty people in college. I know I know, I was excited to leave those shitty people in high school too, but they just followed me to college.
10. Go greek.
The thought of greek life was a little intimidating to me too. Just sign up for recruitment. I promise it is worth it.
11. "Kid, you'll move mountains."
Sorry, that was a little cliche, but it's true. You can be anyone you want to be in college. This is your future. You find out who you are. You can actually make a difference; that phrase isn't a punchline from the school principal anymore. This can decide the rest of your life, and it is not easy in the least. College is a new start that we have all wanted. Do not take it for granted. Remember when you said "I want to go to some town where no now knows my name and start over"? Well mid-August will be your chance to do just that. I'm sorry that I cannot tell you how to pack 18 years in a few boxes. All I can tell you is that is works out like it should. Be happy, be sad, be excited, and be nervous about leaving your hometown.
Congratulations Class of 2016, those crazy, dramatic, exciting, stressful, and happy four years are coming to an end.
Get ready for the next four.
