Dear Past Raul,

Six months from now you're going to be following through on one of the crazier decisions you've ever made, accepting admission from the College of William of Mary. You will have anxiety in the months leading up to attending college because you will be unsure if it is the right place for you. Rest assured, it is.

You will spend the summer teaching tennis. It'll be fun. You'll relive a lot of your childhood, except this time from the perspective of the instructors. You'll high-five kids and tell them that a tennis racket isn't a weapon. You'll help them become better players and students of the game. It'll feel gratifying.

You will attend numerous graduation parties and meet people you wished you had met four years ago. You'll be spending time with them in the city. You'll spend nights on floors and on couches and you'll love every second of it. You'll be missing them by the time fall break comes around. You should go home for fall break, but instead, you'll stay in your dorm.

You will spend the last week of summer in Williamsburg. You'll drive around its various towns and get a lay of the land. You'll spend the last day at Kingsmill and fish by yourself on the James River. It'll be the last time you'll be truly by yourself for quite some time.

You will make lots of friends in the first weeks. Orientation, while feeling like a summer camp, is a fun time and lets you become closer with your hall. You'll have movie nights in the lounge until 3 AM, and bond with the people on other floors. You'll love Yates quickly, and hate it in November for turning the heat on while it is still 70 degrees outside.

You will get all the classes you wanted for the fall semester. You'll love Econ and History, and quickly hate Calculus. You might want to not take calculus, as you don't need it for International Relations. But you'll tough it out.

Rush will be interesting. We'll revisit it in due time.

You will work a lot. You'll spend nearly 3 days in the library running off almost nothing but caffeine. It'll barely be worth it. You'll quickly figure out how to manage the gym and tennis and studies. You'll find a grove and stick to it. You'll fall asleep smiling most nights.

But in the end, you will be the happiest you've ever been. So be happy, you made the right choice.

Sincerely,

Future Raul

PS: 8 AMs are never a good idea. Trust me.