Dear Freshman Year,
I'd just like to say I can't believe how fast time flies! How could we already be done? It seems like just yesterday we were packing up the car with way too many clothes to bring to my dorm. I can remember when summer was coming to a close, and all I could think about is, "Hows this adventure going to go?".
You started off with the typical move in day. It was time to meet the roommates, get to know some of the RA's, and start up some small talk with the others. I wasn't necessarily nervous, I was just-one could say-stuck in my ways. It wasn't that I didn't want to make friends, I was just still trying to get over the fact that it was time to move into the next phase of life. This phase was a phase so unfamiliar, so different, that it often times had me wishing it was still the good old days. It just didn't feel right. Best friends had to separate, daily routines had to change, and parents had to give their babies one last kiss before it was time for them to start life on their own. It was tough, but there was nothing I could do.
Classes began in the fall, and we all felt it was time to step up our game academically because "we wanted to break old habits" or "start college off on the right foot." I wanted better study habits so I could get to bed early, and I wanted to eat three meals a day, including breakfast. It was finally time to change my ways! But then I realized how hard you were really going to be- that attitude changed. In fact, I got less sleep in the first semester than I had ever in any of my 4 years of high school. I also managed to test my limits to the max, as assignment due dates came down to the wire. Never had I waited as long as I did this year to turn in assignment right before they're due.
It took a while to find my niche socially, but once I found it, I felt this was going to be the best school year yet. At times, it still became hard to realize the good old days were officially in the past, but as you progressed, it became easier to look ahead. It became easier to see the positives. Good friends were becoming best friends, and suddenly college forced me to find new outlets (all great of course).
Just when I thought college was going to the toughest test in my faith, it began growing my faith in the Lord in ways i never could have imagined. Certain instances forced me to rely on God more so then ever before, and this pushed me to only seek him further. Never had I spent so much time with the Lord, and never had my soul felt so liberated; never had I felt so free from burden. I guess you could say not every college freshman experienced this, but it certainly was unique. It gave me a peace about life in general, and that is something I will never forget about you.
So here we are, here I am, at the end of you. The only thing standing in between me and another summertime is your dreaded final exam week. It will be tough, it will be trying, but I've never felt more ready to accept this challenge in my life. With all the great times I've had, as I've seen my character grow, as I've become the man God had foreseen I would become, I suddenly feel as though I really don't want you to end. I don't know if I'm ready to go back to "the old ways" before you, because I'm a better person because of you. I've built more inner strength and more perseverance because of you. But thats why its only freshman year, right? After all, there's still three more years to go.
But seriously, with all that being said, I want to say-more than anything- thank you for everything, freshman year. Its been real.
Sincerely,
Cody
