If you're like me, you're the first child to go off to college, but not the only one. My younger sibling is going off to college next year and there are a few things I'd like to share from the learning experiences I've had during my first two semesters.
Dear College-bound sibling,
First I want to say congratulations for making it this far in life. I'd never thought I'd see the day when one of my siblings went off to college, let alone myself.
I'm sure you're excited and nervous and anxious and everything in between but I just wanna say that you really have nothing to worry about. Going off to a new place is often scary but that's only because you have no idea what to expect.
On move-in day, expect overly-excited upperclassmen jumping up and down, balloons that are your school's colors everywhere, and lots and lots of icebreakers. You'll be coaxed into doing silly challenges such as the egg-on-a-spoon challenge, the water-balloon-throwing challenge and so many more. They are all for the sake of each student getting to know one another and having some sort of idea of what your place on campus will be.
You'll have to get used to mom not doing your laundry and going out wearing the last clean articles of clothing you have and thinking to yourself "oh yea, I kinda have to do my laundry soon." Also, try to plan out a specific day to do your laundry and try to do it when all of the washing machines aren't full.
Don't get carried away with your social life, even though it may seem tempting to do. Something like getting Dominos at 2 in the morning with your friends the night before a big test is probably not the best idea--just like cramming for a big test the night before is probably not the way to go either.
No one's gonna chase you down if you need help with something. Be an adult and ask for someone's help. You won't be scrutinized or get into trouble by doing so.
Finally, even though you're going to school to get an education, although it may be cheesy to say, you should also try to have some fun. These are supposed to be the best years of our lives and if we don't have fun, we won't have any fun stories to tell our kids.
Love,
Your already college-experienced sibling