Dear Franci,

You did it. You survived your first quarter at Drexel University. I think you deserve a moment to think back and reflect on how immensely your life has changed from September to December. Let's start with week one.

You left home and moved into your new apartment. You met your roommates whom you'll be spending the next 12 months with. You spent all of welcome week attending the fun events that were planned for Freshmen and Transfers and met a number of new people.

Then, classes began. You were so looking forward to being a Film major, until you attended your first class. Your professor was talking about your first lesson and assignments regarding the technical handling of cameras. Fancy and expensive equipment was being passed around the room and you had to follow along while the teacher explained all the fancy little buttons and gadgets pertaining to the camera you couldn't even dream of putting a name to. Your first project for the class was coming up: rent out the cameras and start shooting stuff that you would then have to montage together. You got a little worried.

You attended your editing class later that day. You sat there for two and a half hours and listened to the teacher talk about editing software. Class ended, and you quickly left and did what any student on the fence about their major would do, you called your family and hysterically cried about how you weren't in the right field. "What was I thinking?," you thought. "When have I ever expressed an interest in recording or editing things? I mixed up an average hobby with something I thought I wanted to do for the rest of my life!"

It was all ok, though! You met with your advisor and carefully sat down and went over things. In the blink of an eye you became a new Communications major! See? There was no need to freak out.

Unfortunately, you were still stuck in one of your classes from your old major, and you had to deal and put up with your first ever lousy Professor. You tried as hard as you could, though. You followed instructions and did your assignments to the best of your ability, you kept your head above water after every negative feedback and comment from that teacher. You passed the class!

You met some great people who are an important part of your life now. You've made so many new friends. You attended that Frat party that one night and out of no where became friends with three random people you never would have thought you would befriend. You all pulled an all nighter around Philly that night and you felt like members of The Breakfast Club.

You rushed your first Frat. You attended all the events, got to know the brothers, and even got a bid and became a pledge. Time went by and you realized it wasn't the right Frat for you. It's ok, though. It happens. You bided your time and scoped things out. You saw you belonged somewhere else. You left on a positive note. Things turned out just fine!

You survived your first Flu without your parents. Sure, you felt like death and every inch of you hurt and ached for warmth, but you dealt with it that whole week and took the best precautions on your own and got phone call advice from your mom and dad.

And in the blink of an eye, it's Christmas break! You survived your first term at Drexel. You passed all your classes with flying colors and got an excellent GPA. You're back at home and thinking back to your last couple of months away at school. You're admiring how far you've come since September, and you're astounded by how much your life has changed in such a short amount of time. You're taking pride in the individual you've become and are continuing to become, and you're more than excited to start another term at Drexel and see what else life has in store for you. After all, you did it!