Me from six years ago...

Summer of 2010 found me just graduating high school and wondering what life at college had in store for me.

I was eager to attend Summer Orientation to finally make some new friends up at college.

But I don't think anyone could have prepared me for what was about to happen to me over the course of my undergrad.

If I could go back this is what I would tell my then, 18-year-old self:

First, prepare yourself to be in a lot of debt after completing your degree. By choosing a private school out of the state I lived, many loans came my way in order to educate myself.

With that out of the way I would tell myself to be prepared for a new chapter. A new me and a whole lot of new friends.

College life was more than I ever imagined it to be. I discovered so much about myself and my passions in life, while also making amazing friends and connections to last a lifetime. I finally got to go to NYC, not once, but almost twice a semester for six years. If that wasn't fun enough, I was still known as the resident dancer and life of the party.

Some of the more shocking truths for my younger self is all the times I went out to the club or a house party on the weekends. I would have never imagined myself as a person who would party in college. Hell, back in high school, parties were at a friend's place, where we would play card games and charades.

So you can imagine my surprise looking back now.

The last thing I would tell my younger self is that I shouldn't let what others had said in the past disrupt my future. I may have been bullied for most of my elementary and middle school years, but their words should not hold me back. It took time for me to accept myself because I was afraid to make the bullies right. However I learned that what others think of me doesn't matter as much as what I think of myself; my pride.

Crazy to think about the person I was six years ago in the Fall of 2010, but happy to see the man I've grown into today and eager to start my final chapter at MSMC this fall!