Dear 17-year old me,

I am writing to you as a college senior – yes, you heard me correctly: a college senior getting ready to graduate from the greatest university in the world – Virginia Tech. And I’m sure, right now, you’re probably feeling more emotions than you could have ever imagined yourself feeling. Not to stress you out any more than you already are, but those emotions won’t exactly go away four years from now. With high school graduation just around the corner and freshman orientation quickly approaching, I know that there is more behind that brave and confident front you’re putting up. I know that you’re anxious and nervous and slightly terrified, but I want you to know that it’s okay to be feeling all of those feelings because let’s be honest, no one is quite as brave and confident and ready for college as they appear to be.

But before you make your way to your new home away from home in Blacksburg, Virginia, there’s just a few things you need to know.

First and foremost, college is not going to come easily. Your first couple of months of college will be hard. You won’t meet your best friends right away. You won’t find “your place” on campus as soon as you expect to. And you will be tempted to become someone you’re not just to fit into the “college crowd.” But, don’t change who you are or what you wholeheartedly believe in to please anyone but yourself because who you are now is and always will be enough. Who you are now will shape who you become in four years, and I hope you will believe me when I say that you turned out to be pretty awesome as a college senior.

Secondly, follow your dreams and follow your heart. If anything, I can promise you this: it is absolutely fine to not know what you want to do with your life but as long as you find your passion and chase your dreams while you’re here, you will end up exactly where you belong. I can’t say it will be easy – quite honestly, it’ll be far from easy – but I want you to know that the joy and happiness you find in what you’re doing will be worth all of the hard work you put into chasing your dreams.

Third, do not be afraid to get involved, but only get involved in the things that mean the most to you. Don’t join a club simply to put it on your resume. Join an organization that will make you look forward to every meeting and event. Join an organization that gives you meaning and a purpose on campus. Join an organization that you will be proud to talk about every day even after you have graduated.

Fourth, appreciate and cherish the relationships you build during your four years at Virginia Tech. The people you meet here will change your life in the best ways possible. While there will be many individuals who will merely come and go throughout your college experience, there will also be individuals who will make a lifelong mark in your story and who you become. The relationships you make at Virginia Tech will be genuine and pure, and they will become the community you’ve been longing, searching, and hoping for. And the absolute best thing about each of these relationships is that they will love you for exactly who you are, and they will push you to be a better version of yourself each and every day. And then, go on and tell these individuals just how much they mean to you because they’ll never know the impact they’ve made on your life otherwise.

Fifth, be present in everything you do. It’s easy to get distracted by schoolwork and busy schedules, and it becomes easy to just “go through the motions.” But I hope you will remember to take the time to enjoy what is happening in the “right now,” and I hope you will remember to spend a little less time worrying about the “what ifs” in life. There is something meaningful in everything you do – no matter how big or small – at Virginia Tech. Your time will never be wasted as long as you remember to be truly engaged in what you are a part of and embrace the moment you are living in.

Lastly, remember to thank Mom and Dad. They will always support you, just as they always have. They will always fight for you, just as they always have. And they will always love you, just as they always have. They’ve given so much for you to be where you are today and for you to be where you will end up four years from now.

They say Virginia Tech is a special place made up of incredible people. They’re not wrong. And what is so incredible is that you get to be a part of this special place. You get to be a part of the incredible group of people that make Virginia Tech home to so many individuals across the globe. With these next four years ahead of you, I hope you love everything that Virginia Tech has to offer you, and I hope you embrace each and every one of those opportunities. I never could have imagined how Virginia Tech shaped me into the person I am today, and I can’t wait for you to experience how this wonderful place can change your world in the best ways possible.

If I could do it all again, I would not change a single thing. So, don’t blink. It all goes by way too fast.

Sincerely,

Your-soon-to-be-college-graduate-self