If I were able to write a letter to my 17-year-old self who was about to start her freshman year of college, this is what I would say:
Dear Me,
You're about to start one of the greatest journeys of your life. I know how excited you are about this new chapter, about starting your classes, and meeting "the one." However, I'm here to reveal the hard truth to you.
You're going to miss home. You're going to miss your high school routine. You're going to miss your family more than you thought you could miss anything. You're going to realize it when you call your sister, and you hear your dog barking in the background.
There are also some things you are going to learn the hard way. You'll learn that even though you are socially awkward and an introvert, you have to go out and meet people. You need people, even if they are only going to be in your life for a season.
Join new things even if you have to try them out by yourself. That's how you are going to make the friends you now could not imagine living your life without. You are going to meet them and bond with them in foreign countries that you have only dreamed about and do not worry. You are brave enough to go. You will be surprised by how resourceful you can be. You will like how independent you will feel.
Your college career is going to feel like you are going through hell sometimes. There will be late, sleepless nights that even coffee cannot fix the next morning. You will cry more than you have in years, and I am sorry, but you will not find "the one" like everyone made you believe during your first week.
However, with all of these heartbreaking moments, you must know that you will become so happy and you will learn to be comfortable in your skin. You will no longer be so afraid of speaking your mind or trying new things, and bless your heart, you will finally not be so terrified of meeting new people.
You are going to love college. Your professors are going to teach you things you never thought you wanted to learn, and your fellow classmates are going to be kinder to you than you thought people could be. So, get out there. Do not let anything hold you back because I am here to tell you that you are brave, you are worthy of love, and you are beautiful.
