Dear college senior,
It's here. Your senior year of college. Crazy, right? There's no way this is your fourth year of college already. Remember the last time you were a senior, you know, in high school? Remember how excited, nervous, scared, and anxious you felt all at the same time? You were about to begin a whole new journey, AKA college. At 17 or 18 years old, you didn't know what to expect of college or how everything would turn out. You were only a kid. All you knew is that it had to be better than high school, and that you were ready to go.
Look how far you've come. Was it everything you thought it would be? Did it meet your expectations? Everyone always said these would be some of the best years of your life. If your experience has been anything like mine, then they were right. You learned so much about other people, you learned about yourself. You failed some tests. You had to retake a class. You changed your major. You made mistakes. You met a few friends that are going to be in your life forever, and you met many that were only there for convenience. You got your heart broken a couple times by someone that made you think they cared. Yeah, these things don't really scream "best years of your life" now do they? That's the interesting thing about college. Even though you went through all of this and so much more, you still had the time of your life.
If you're someone that chose a college outside of your hometown, you're even more terrified of what's next. What seems like not too long ago, you packed all your things and moved to a place that you didn't grow up in, and you made it your home. You didn't have your high school crew right by your side anymore, so you made all new friends. You didn't have your family to provide you with food, so you either learned to cook, or like me- you lived on easy mac and pizza. You didn't have your mom there to help you through every hard time, so you learned to wipe away your own tears and pick yourself up. You took care of yourself, because you had to.
If you're going back to your hometown at all, sure, things will be good there. There will be home-cooked meals, more time with family, and you won't need money for groceries, rent, etc. for a little while, until you get on your own feet. Or until you get that job you've been working for. It's going to be a life-change. It's going to be weird going back after being gone for years. You left there a completely different person than who you are coming back as. Maybe you'll like being back, or maybe you move somewhere new. You don't have to know yet.
We spend a lot of our time anticipating what's next, and not appreciating the moment we are in right now. I hope you made the most of it. I hope you didn't wish it all away, because you can't go back now. Most importantly, I hope you know that it's okay to not have it all figured out. Just because you're almost done with college doesn't mean you have to have it all together. I wish I had advice for you and that I could tell you what to expect, but I don't have a clue. All I know is that you have a good head on your shoulders, and that things are going to fall in place. Like I said, look how far you've come. Give yourself a pat on the back, you did it.
Up next: The Real World. Good luck out there.
Sincerely,
An excited, nervous, scared, and anxious college senior.
