Dear Second Semester Seniors in High School,

At this time last year I was just like you, in your exact same position. I was over everything, itching to get out of school, and idealistically imagining how great college was going to be. I had gotten a roommate, I had been making friends online, and I had my dorm room all planned out. Everything seemed to be going just swimmingly...until the stress caught up with me. Like many other seniors, all of those feelings of annoyance, impatience, excitement, and uncertainty all snowballed into one stressful end to my senior year. How was I supposed to keep up with the dreadfully awful college group message? Would I be friends with the people I had met online? Would my roommate and I get along? Would I ever get a boyfriend? A best friend? The sorority I wanted? All of these questions were making me fall apart at the seams, and quite honestly, ruined the second semester of my senior year.

So, in short, don't be like me my senior year. I know there are A LOT of questions and feelings going on at this point in your life, but don't you dare let those things steal your joy during such an exciting and new time in your life. No worry and no person in your life is important enough to plague your thoughts and control how you feel. So learn now to be selective, and then cut everything else out of your life, because in college, that's the only way you're going to learn to grow and survive. Cut out those negative thoughts, cut out those annoying people on the group message, cut out that boy that's DM-ing you (because we all know he's only looking for one thing) and cut out the stress and worry. Everything will ultimately work out when you get to college, even if you experience some road bumps along the way, so why worry and stress about it?

Take it from a second-semester college freshman who wishes she could tell her past self not to stress and worry so much. You will be fine. Cut out the negative and unimportant things in your life right now, and focus on the positive things that DO matter: family, faith, friends, your hobbies, your talents and those final exams. You've got this!

Much love,

A Student Who Was Once in Your Shoes