Dear SMU Class of 2020,

Congratulations on becoming Mustangs!

You have made the best decision of your life by coming to the most amazing school in the country. Although I’m a little biased, I know you will absolutely love life on the Hilltop. It feels like yesterday that I was zipping up my last bag and loading my whole life into my car. I hope you enjoy this time of newness and excitement. This is one of the biggest changes of your life, transitioning from living with your family to becoming an adult. You’re responsible for yourself now and have massive amounts of freedom. Celebrate by staying up late, eating ice cream for dinner and binge watching Netflix. After one week of doing this, you’ll realize that this isn’t the best use of your time.

Freshman year isn’t always easy, but it’s a lot of fun. You’ll miss your family and friends, but classes and your new college friends will keep you busy. I know when I was coming into SMU I had a terrible fear that I wouldn’t make any friends. It may be cliche, but everyone is in the same boat and are looking for their new friend group. The first months are packed full of fun events where you can meet new people.

Get to know the people in your dorm, after all, you’ll be living with them for the next year. I met all my best friends in my dorm and I have to thank SMU for putting me in Crum Commons for my freshman year. Your college friends are your new family. Even though your mom is just a FaceTime call away, you’ll be texting your college friends to go on a Pokey O’s run after a stressful day. Some of my best college memories are just hanging out in the dorms with my friends.

When it comes to classes, they can be challenging. But you should have confidence that you will excel in your classes. It’s just going to take some effort and hard work. Learn the advantages of time management as soon as possible, but I guarantee you will procrastinate. Get to know your professors, go to office house and take advantage of the ALEC. All of these resources at your fingertips will really help you.

Go out and explore Dallas! Although I didn’t leave campus much first semester my Freshman year, second semester I ate out at restaurants and went to museums in downtown Dallas. One of the advantages of SMU is that it’s a major city so you have endless off campus activities to try. Ask upperclassmen or the many students from Dallas where they best spots are.

Class of 2020, I hope you’re excited for one of the best years of your life. Take advantage of everything that comes your way and soak up every bit of SMU. Enjoy this awkward period of transition time and know that you have many exciting memories down the road.

Welcome to the SMU family!