A Letter To My High School Senior Self

Dear Senior Year Carly,

Hey, girl. Um, okay. Where do I start?

Since my freshman year of college will be done in just a few short months, I thought it'd be a good idea to write this.

I'll just start off by saying you will pass AP Macro. This will be your biggest concern of your whole senior year. I'm not sure what possessed you to take this class. You will cry about three times during the course, though. Once to your teacher, and the other two times during class. Macro is tough, and it will kick you in the ass. You'll end up with a 1 out of 5 on the National Exam, and you'll end up with a D+ in the course. That's the lowest grade you've ever gotten in your life. But, don't let that grade define who you are as a person. You are smart, just not in AP Macro! I wish you would've tried a little more because sometime in June, you'll be told that you may not be able to deliver the Welcome Speech at graduation because of your Macro grade. Oh yeah, you get to deliver the Welcome Speech at graduation!! What an honor. You beat out all the other candidates and the school administration chose you! Don't freak out about it. I mean, you can freak out a little bit because it's kind of a big deal. There are thousands of people listening and thousands of pairs of eyes watching you. But no pressure, right?

Your college plans will change drastically. Congrats on getting into all your colleges, by the way. Right now, you're thinking you're going to have the time of your life at college. But, it won't be butterflies and rainbows. Yes, you're going to buy all the West Chester merchandise you can get your hands on. You're going to find girls online that will be your roommates. But, you'll get to WCU, you'll have fun for about a month, and then you'll get super homesick. Hey, it's okay. Sure, you'll go home every weekend, but that's okay. Just try your best. Push through. At one point, you will have had enough, and you're going to come home and transfer to Bucks County Community College. Looking back, I am so proud of moving away from home and actually going to college at West Chester. You never know what will happen until you try, and you did.

Please, just soak it all in. You'll be counting down the days until graduation; almost every high school senior does that! But don't take this time for granted. High school really is one of the best times of your life. On graduation day, look around you. Chances are, you probably won't see most of these people ever again. You think that you'll just see everyone over Thanksgiving and Christmas break, but you won't. Everyone gets busy and everyone moves on with their lives. Don't feel like you have to attach yourself to people in high school because that's all you have. Soon, you will be starting a new chapter in your life, and girl, it will not be like anything you ever imagined.

Love ya,

College freshman Carly