Dear First Semester Self,

You just hit the send button on an email that contains a message to your randomly selected roommate. As you wait for a response by the computer screen you begin to digest the reality of the situation; in a month, you will be a freshman at Syracuse University.

You begin to bite your nails, a habit that only shows its face when you're nervous, which results in you chipping away your freshly painted nail polish. You have been eager to attend college since the beginning of your freshmen year at high school and now that it is almost time go the eagerness is replaced with fear and unease.

You are worried about the places you will go and the people you will meet and the overwhelming life change that you are about to experience. The gravity of the situation at hand is large and engulfing, but it is simultaneously exhilarating and breathtaking.

You are worried that you will not make friends or connections with any of your peers as easily as you did in high school, you are concerned that the classes you are taking will be too advanced for you, and you are scared that you will become homesick.

These apprehensions are all normal for an incoming freshman to feel about college; after all, it is an experience that compares to no other. I am here to tell you that you will do just fine adjusting to college life.

Although it will make you anxious, attend the first-floor meeting with a smile; this will be the first interaction you will have with the people that you will see every day for the rest of the year. Although you hate icebreakers, participate and listen to what others around you have to say because you will find that you share common interests with the people surrounding you.

In classes and lectures, allow yourself to socialize with complete strangers, even if it means talking about the Gucci sneakers that somebody is wearing. Unlike high school, you are entering these classes blindly and not knowing anybody.

Because of this, it is up to you to introduce yourself and mingle with the people sitting around you.

This is terrifying, but it is the best thing you can do for meeting new friends and study partners. Through it all, just be yourself and be open to meeting different people.

The topics and workload that you will receive in college surpass that of high school. This should not come as a surprise, given the numerous tales of study sessions and all-nighters that your sister has told you about regarding her four years at college.

Although the classes are more advanced and demanding than you are used to, don’t worry about it too much. High school has prepared you for what college requires, and more. Despite the essays being longer and the homework being more than a simple worksheet, you are capable of completing the work and exceeding the average if you apply all the skills that you learned in high school.

You are well equipped to handle things such as time management and rhetorical thinking which in turn will help you succeed in your classes. You are able to take comprehensive and detailed notes during lectures and classes which will only serve to benefit you when studying for an exam or final. So yes, the classes are more advanced than high school, however, you are more than able to handle it.

When leaving for school, you will realize that you have never been away from home for such a long duration of time. The closest thing that you can relate going off to college with was my experience with summer camp when you were in the seventh grade.

You recall that you were not a fan of summer camp for after the third day of extensive activities in the blazing summer sun you began to feel homesick; I would dedicate an hour out of every day just to write my parents a letter.

My favorite part of summer camp was not swimming in the lake or making friendship bracelets, but rather retrieving the mail so I can have some degree of communication with my family. Because of this, leaving for college was something that filled my mind with anxiety.

You will initially feel homesick, but this is totally normal.

You will miss your family so much more than you thought you would, however, there are ways you will keep in contact which will help with that. You will find that phone calls and Facetime are the best way to connect with your family, regardless of however many miles away you are from them.

There is a silver lining to this too: there is no curfew in college! Despite your occasional homesickness, you will find the newfound independence of living on your own to be exciting and educational.

There is much more I wish I could tell you about your first semester of college, however, it is important that you learn them yourself as you go through the experience. Allow yourself experience new things, regardless of your anxieties.

You will hit a few rough patches along the way, but everybody does and this should not limit you in becoming the best student and friend you can be. There will be long study nights, an abnormal amount of coffee consumption, and exams that leave you scratching your head, but it is worth it in the end.

It is so rewarding to step out of your comfort zone and experience all of what college has to offer.

Sincerely,
Second Semester Nicole