First and foremost, let me tell you how weird it is to be sitting here writing this letter. It's been a hard pill to swallow having to call myself an upperclassman. It's not that I regret the past two years or anything, it's just two years ago feels like a completely different lifetime. Fair warning, the next two years are going to be an emotional rollercoaster. I say that in the nicest way possible, but you will get wrecked at least once or twice along the way.

A lot of memories have been made in the past two years. Some have been amazing and some...well some I'd rather forget. Either way, each of them has helped to transform me into who I am today.

I'm going to be quite honest with you, right now you're probably feeling like crap. You're overwhelmed and I know for a fact you've already broken down wanting to go home where you were known and appreciated. Hold strong, I promise you it gets better. I won't promise you that every single day will be roses and dandelions but you'll find where you belong on UNC's campus and before long you'll feel right at home.

If I could go back and have someone give me one piece of advice it would be to join organizations earlier rather than later! By that I don't mean that you have to be involved in every single club you encounter at FallFest but join a few just to feel them out. It took me up into the midst of sophomore year to actually get involved in things outside of a church and a small group Bible study. Not that there's anything wrong with that because both Bible Church and Cru have both drastically changed my college experience. Looking back, though, I wish I'd decided the things I wanted to invest my time in earlier so that I could've spent four years in them as opposed to just two or three.

Ok, honesty time, MAJORITY or the friendships you make freshman year will not last. I'm not trying to be rude, or demean, any of the relationships that I made during freshman year but by sophomore year we'd drifted apart. Now, this isn't me saying that I have none of the same friends from freshman year. It's just that over time we each began to see life differently and that led us to grow apart. I'm thankful for each and every single person I have encountered because they have formed me into the person I am today.

Another thing you have to remember to prioritize is your walk with God. I know you're probably rolling your eyes right now saying, "I know, I know, Mom". But let me tell you, in the last two years the one constant in my life has been God. When school got to be too overwhelming or I was going through hell with friends the time I spent growing closer to the Lord were the calm in the midst of the storms that fill everyday college life. I know that there will be plenty of people who are going to question your faith or who are going to try to draw you into things of this world, but don't buy into the "college lifestyle." While this may be the path that some people choose to go down, heck I even choose to go down it for a while, it ended up just not being my style. I quickly learned the only thing that comes out of buying into that culture is late, drunken nights at frat parties and trying to live up to an image that you'll never be able to maintain.