Graduating high school and moving on to college can be incredibly exciting and scary. New adventures await you, you're starting the next chapter of your life, you're an adult. But this also means you're leaving everything and everyone you know for something completely different. That's terrifying. I can tell you that we've all been there. You're not alone in your moments of pure joy or absolute terror.
If I could give you any advice that would hopefully help you through this emotional rollercoaster, I would tell you that it's okay. It's okay to be nervous about leaving home for the first time. It's okay to be excited about being exposed to the world. It's okay to NOT know what you want to major in or what you want to do with your life. These are all normal; everyone feels this way when they head off to college. Even those of us in college feel this way. So, it'll be okay.
One of the biggest things that I think helped me through this transition (and is still helping me as I enter my third year of college) is that, although I may not be who I want to be, I know who I want to be. I know the type of woman, wife, and mother I want to be when I grow up. But that's the catch. I'm only 19, I've still got a lot of growing up to do. I have time to learn how to become who I want to be. I have plenty of role models in my life who have shown me who I want to be and now I have to work to get there. So it's okay if I'm not the woman I want to be because I'm working towards that goal, and I have a support system. And again, I have time.
Utilize your support system! Ask questions, seek help, take the initiative and put in the effort to keep up relationships with those who care about you and want to help you. We know what it's like, so don't be scared to ask. You'll be away from these people so this will just be another difference to get used to, you have to put in intentional effort. You're not alone in this and reaching out when you need help is really the only way to stay happy and healthy and survive .
Be patient. All of these things take work and time. And that's a really hard concept to grasp when we live in such an instantaneous world. You feel expected to have answers to all these things: what your major will be, what career path will you choose, etc. Very few people have these answers, even as juniors and seniors in college. It's okay to not know. You won't be behind. You have time to figure this out. So take the time and know it's okay not to know. It is so stressful to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life when this is your first time living on your own. Trust me, I know. I would say just do what you love. Listen to yourself, not others, because your happiness will depend on you listening to what you want.
Be adventurous. College opens you up to a whole new world. You meet so many people from around the world, all with different backgrounds and interests. You'll learn new things about the world and yourself. Do your best to keep an open mind and go new places and experience these new things with the people around you. Being around new perspectives helps you shape your own because it completely changes the way you view the world and the views you heard back home were very different that the ones you hear now. And that all has to do with experiences.
Be happy, be yourself. You've come so far and accomplished so much, don't forget where you came from and how your life experiences have shaped who you are as a person. Be proud of who you are. Don't be afraid to be yourself. Even if you feel like the only one with that view or that interest, I promise you, you're not. Don't let the others influence you or try to define you. Only YOU can define YOU. So, it's okay to be yourself. It's encouraged actually.
It'll be okay. Right now it seems scary and exciting all at once, and that's how we've all felt. So you're not alone. You will change during your freshmen year, and continue to change and grow during your entire college experience. You may not have it all figured out when you graduate, and that's okay too, because you still have a lifetime ahead of you. I mean, you're only 22. But you'll be able to look back to your senior year in high school and see how much you've grown into yourself. You'll be able to tell the next class that it'll be okay because everyone feels the same things. It's okay to not know and to be scared and to be adventurous. It's okay to ask for help and it's okay to be yourself and even find yourself during your four years. Just be happy, be you, and know it's okay because you're only 19 and you have time so enjoy it.
