Dear You,
It has been such a wild, beautiful ride since the last time I've talked to you. I wish I could say that I've been looking forward to catching you up to speed on things, but that would be twisting the truth a bit. It's always nice to dip my toes into the past, but I don't want to give you the wrong impression and make you think I'm coming back for good.
This might come as a bit of a shock for you, but you are nowhere near the same person you were at the beginning of the year.
See, things have been pretty different since the day you stepped out of your mom's car and into your dorm room for the first time. I'm not just talking about the superficial things like the clothes you wear and how you're styling your hair; you have undergone a dramatic change inside as well. I'll start with the first thing that's probably on your mind, as I know you were really nervous about leaving your family and friends and moving to a new location with new people. You don't have to worry, you're still closer than ever with them. What's even better now is that you have a ton of new friends and a whole bunch of new experiences with them that are surely going to be memories you hold dear to you forever. Who knows? You may have even found your future maid of honor and you don't even know it yet.
I can't say that college has been completely breezy for you. You have made mistakes, probably more than you had intended to make in the first place. You have cried on your floor at three in the morning because you no longer have your mom thirty feet away from you. You have failed, sometimes not exams but the expectations of certain people around you. You have willingly skipped class because there have been days where you wonder why you even went to college in the first place. If there's anything I can tell you in advance though, it's to not resent yourself for the hard things that have happened. Not only have you gotten over them, they have shaped you into a better person and you have become a stronger person because of them.
Yes, your mom is no longer thirty feet away from you when you're having a crisis and she won't always be there to pick up the phone when you need her, but it has made you so much closer with her. You might have failed your first exam this semester, but you have been getting A's ever since. You might have failed your best friend, but they know that mistakes happen and you have been forgiven. You do have days where you don't know why you went to college, but there are little things that happen that remind you why and make you even more excited for your bright future ahead. There will be more hard times ahead, but you are so prepared for them.
You have so much drive and ambition now that you never had in high school. Your life feels like it's all over the place but at the same time you have never been more in touch with yourself. College has helped you evolve into a woman who knows what she wants, and you don't let anyone get in your way anymore. I can't tell you how great it is to see you sticking up for yourself and your dreams-- it's the most confident I've ever seen you.
You have so much going for you -- I promise, and I can't wait for you to experience it yourself.
Sincerely,
The girl closing the chapter of her freshman year
