You’ve made it. Your days of AP classes, pep rallies, Friday night football, and the rest of your high school routines are coming to an end. It is scary, I know. You are being forced to leave behind everything you’ve worked so hard to make your own: your friends, your GPA, your life. It’s easy to understand how frustrating this may be, but I am here to tell you that you have SO much to look forward to.
College is a time of change; that’s inevitable. But these changes can be good or bad, It all depends on what you make of your new opportunities. Do not try to emulate your high school life as soon as you move away to a new school. The lessons you have learned over the past four years, both positive and negative, will help you find your way.
That being said, it is important to make sure you are not adapting to a new place, but finding your place within it. A lot of people will come to college and think they need to change who they are to fit in; that they need to drink their way to popularity amongst their new peers. This is not true.
No matter how many times your parents tell you these will be the best four years of your life, you won’t believe them until you are there to experience college for yourself. This is where you find your people, your friends forever. There is not a certain trick to doing this, as if you are involved in what is important to you, you will be surrounding yourself with the right people.
I think the most important thing to remember during this time of transition is that everyone is in the same boat. While some people may act like they know exactly what they are doing, nobody around you has been a freshman in college before. That pretty girl who lives in the dorm room next to you, who seems like she has everything together? Yeah, she is probably just as terrified as you are. Nobody knows how to be a college student right off the bat. Like I said, this entire year will be a learning experience.
Another important thing to remember is that while it may seem like you are leaving your best friends for good, you aren’t. Yes, maintaining a friendship separated by states is a bit harder than being just a 5-minute drive away. But if your friendship truly matters, you will both put in the effort to make it survive. Remember the great times you’ve shared together, but be sure to make more memories at school that you can tell them all about. Don’t forget about FaceTime, either. Ah, what a beautiful thing.
So, don’t view this time as a disappointing end, but an exciting beginning. You should be thrilled to embark on this new journey! It may be different, and it may be scary, but it is going to be the best time of your life. This summer, enjoy the comfort of the life you have spent so many years creating. Spend time with your best friends, hang out with your family, and make sure your loved ones know how much they mean to you. (You will miss your parents a lot next year, I promise).
As you spend time trying to plan the coolest graduation party, decorating the perfect dorm room, and organizing the cutest rush outfits, keep everything in perspective. Your Freshman year is not going to be perfect in every aspect, but it is going to be the best experience you could ever ask for. Get ready for the most exciting year of your life; it will be gone before you know it.
