Dear Future Freshman,

You're going to love college; there's simply no other way to put it. You'll arrive, unpack, and begin to start the beginning of the rest of your lives.

The homesickness will set in when you watch your parents drive out of your residence hall, and even though no one will admit it, everyone in your building is feeling the exact same thing. To fill your new emptiness, leave your door open, introduce yourself to everyone on your floor, and sit next to someone new in all of your orientations. The best friends I have made here were because I joined a floor-wide game of trying to "kill" one another with highlighters; you never know where your future best-binge-watchers will come from.

The first day of classes is nerve-racking: the giant lecture halls and the immediate intimidation of the subject you're in. So, find a study-buddy; sit next to anyone and ask for their number because just like you, everyone in the class feels alone.

As the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months, you realize without ever noticing it, you've built yourself a new home. Yes, you still look forward to seeing your friends from home and getting to hug your pets, but when you leave school, you'll feel like you're leaving a part of yourself behind. Each time you come back from a break, you're more and more excited to see your friends, your floormates, and even the people who you don't even know.

As I close off my freshman year, the only advice I have is to meet someone new each day, and to spend your weekends with your friends, studying your lives away in the library. You have a fresh start where no one knows you, so make the best of it; become the person you've always dreamed of being because this is the first year of the rest of your lives.

Sincerely,

A current college freshman who is not looking forward to going home