Today I woke up realizing I am a senior in college. I was doing my last minute (procrastinated) packing, the fourth and last time I will be packing my car and driving to campus for the school year.

My brother began his freshman year of college a couple days ago and as we had our emotional good-byes to him, it wasn’t hard to remember that I was in his position just three years ago. And the three years that have shaped, defined, and changed me are gone. I just have just one more to go. I thought: what advice could I give him that I would want to hear? And I realized it’s nothing that I can describe. He will learn them himself. And while he may be nervous now, he will grow in not only maturity but in confidence.

Freshman. You will be scared to ask the students in your suite/floor to go to the dining hall with you. Do it anyway. These are the people you have class with, the ones you will laugh with as you stumble in at 2 a.m. on a Friday night and the ones you will need at one time. Talk to them. Add them on Facebook. Compliment the room that they worked hard to make look like home to them. They are probably as nervous and as homesick as you are.

Be nice. The biggest regrets I have are 1. talking behind someone’s back and 2. leaving someone out when I had the chance not to. All the others I learned from. Be nice, because eventually you may need someone to be nice to you too. And it feels good.

You’ll probably go to those big maps on campus to search where your classes are and wonder if anyone else looks as obvious as you do. They do. You’ll find your way soon enough, as the campus will become your second home.

You may think you know who you are now. You don’t. Soon you’ll realize that not only your music taste or coffee preferences may change, but so does your view of the world. You’ll become empathetic; you may even change your political party. You’ll find that the person you were in high school will most likely not be the person you are in college and that’s okay.

And here’s the big one. Your parents are really cool. They’re rooting for you. They’re the loudest fans in the stands of your life, and they want you to succeed. Your mom will like it when you call her and tell her the funny thing that happened in class. She’ll like seeing the nice comments professors will write on the side of your essays. Your dad will want to hear about the funny story about you and your suitemates on his way to work. And most of all, you’ll realize your family is your rock. You are who you are because of them. Always remember that.

And finally: don’t be afraid. Your freshman year you may be scared of change. Of the classes where you are in with upperclassmen, of joining a new club, of taking a class that scares you, of making new friends. But I promise you the next four years will be the most scary, life-changing, independent, but amazing years of your life. Enjoy them.