For the past four years, I, as well as my fellow Class of 2023 peers, have dreamed about college. We have dreamed about the unlimited freedom away from home, the exciting new classes in topics we want to study, and simply embracing our adulthood in the real world. Within the next month or so, I will finally be moving onto Syracuse University's campus and starting the life I have so anxiously anticipated throughout high school.

However, in the meantime, it has been a difficult adjustment. This is the last summer before I will be thrown into internships and summer courses. This is the last summer with my high school friends before we all go our very separate directions. This is the last summer I will spend with my family where I am unaware of what college life is really like. This is the last summer before everything changes.

After a while, we become accustomed to what our life is. We are used to waking up at ungodly hours to suffer through many periods in a day. We are aware of the regimented day in and day out routines we have had for the past four years. We know our way around our high school's halls and which teachers give the most homework. We can easily point out some of our classmates by name and be confident enough to wave at underclassmen in the hallway. But, now, that is all about to change.

Just because I and the rest of my classmates have dreamed of the day we walk onto campus, doesn't mean we don't have our reservations. Am I sure where the Life Sciences Building is? Do I know which meal plan I am on? What if I can't find a group to fit in with? Will I truly be happy here? Personally, these questions have kept me up all summer. I wonder if college will live up to all I think it will be. During my restless nights of sleep, I try to answer these questions, combing through my campus tours and internet scouring to figure out all that I can. Secretly, I am terrified to start despite the excitement and overall readiness I have about starting my college life.

Change doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it surely can be daunting and overwhelming. Now that the moment is here, I truly need to try and take a step back to appreciate where I am and how far I have come. I am grateful that I no longer must hear my dreaded high school bells again. I am excited to reach out to a diverse group of individuals that will walk with me through Syracuse's halls. I am beyond ready to be myself for the first time in a long time with people that will accept me and allow me to grow into the person I am destined to become.

To Syracuse University's Class of 2023, I encourage you to enjoy the last few weeks of summer before we are thrown into orientation and textbooks and our first glimpses of college stress. Our worries and reservations are just obstacles to our move-in dates. We made the right choice deciding on Syracuse and we soon will be with like-minded individuals that will create happy memories for us to cherish forever. Take a deep breath, enjoy the rest of the summer, and before you know it, we will be living the lives we were dreaming of for the past four years. I can't wait to meet you there.