A message to myself 12 months ago:

Dear almost freshman in college, 18 year old, Jessy,

Do not worry. Don't even fret one bit. Yes, you're scared, anxious, nervous, and excited...but who wouldn't be? You're about to move across the country, away from everything you've known and loved for the past 18 years, to begin a new life, with new people, in a foreign land...and believe me when I say, it's going to be okay. Correction, it's actually going to be pretty great. You will face many ups, and an equal share of downs, in your first year of college (especially because you're a collegiate athlete), but with each moment that passes another page of your life will turn. Don't let those pages turn too quickly because before you know it, this next chapter of your life will be 1/4 of the way through.

Trust me when I tell you that you will face heartbreak, shed many tears, and become overly stressed and frustrated with school. You will have to rediscover your identity and who you are away from the environment and people that made you who you are. You will be exhausted, want to give up, fail, and experience emotions you never thought even existed. However, for all those times of downfalls, trials, tribulations, confusion, and immense emotion, there will be twice as many memories, moments, and lessons-learned that will live on and are worth remembering until the end of time.

You will immerse yourself into a brand new culture, more suited for your pace and attitude (might I add), interact with people who will become not only your best friends, but your genuine soul sisters, and dive deep into interesting academic courses. You will learn to love from a distance and balance all the components of your hectic life a little more steady than you thought you had in high school. You will stay up watching "The Bachelor," have deep life discussions with your ride or dies on the nightly, and re-learn to appreciate what genuine companionship is. You will "babysit" a time or 12, but absolutely love each and every second of the chaos and excitement that comes with parenting a college student who’s had one too many. You will try everything...and I mean everything, from new regional food and desserts, to college clubs (maybe too many at times..), and classes that challenge and extend your comfort zone. You will constantly smile, because who wouldn't when they've found a gem like the school you're about to attend. You'll miss home, that's no doubt, but for every second of angst and uneasiness you feel, you will have three times the amount of friends, hugs, and laughs to comfort you. You will face a record-breaking soccer season and fall in love again with a game you were introduced to 14 years ago. You will push yourself to be better than your best in your friendships, athletics, and academics. You will challenge yourself to put friends before schoolwork sometimes because you never did in high school (I promise you, it's okay), and actually go to those crazy college parties, even if you were the only one not partaking in any special activities. You will be confident, rooted, and steady in who you are and will not transform your happy, passionate, and joyous demeanor (I know 12 months ago, you were scared of a new place slowly and quietly changing who you are, whether you admitted to having that fear or not). You will discover the importance of living in the moment and appreciating time, memories, and life milestones for what they are- something you struggled with in your adolescent days (you will finally learn to not let life pass you by). You will befriend all and comfort many. You will be pushed down, but get up twice more. You will receive little sleep, but lots of memories. You will meet the people you never thought existed, yet now, could never live without. You will put pressure on yourself on the field and in the classroom, but will learn to remain grounded and sane with the help of your honest and wise pals. You will have the best roommate, I promise you that, and someone who will hold a special place in your heart and life for the years to come. You will online shop way too often (please don't do that again this year...), and memorize every aisle of your local Target to make shopping sprees more efficient. You will hold firm in your beliefs, testimonies, and self, without any persuasion or judgement. You will see and experience things only God could have planned. You will be tested in your faith and yet fall back to Him. And although it might be hard at times, you will not be tempted. You will watch, learn, and live a life striving to be like the leaders and role models you will soon meet and surrounded yourself with this year. You will rush for a sorority and receive the “Mom” of your dreams. You will earn your first C on a paper, and call your mom crying, but you will not let one grade define your ability as a student. You will miss your pets, of course, but you will survive (and then leave them again three more times). You will develop deep and reliable relationships with not only your peers, but your schools’ charming faculty and staff, too. You will be fueled by coffee and hoard fruit from the caf, but all of your weird eating habits and fetishes will be met. You will open up, let your guard down, and share. You will listen, provide a shoulder to lean on, and support. You will evolve, develop, and grow. You will thrive. And last but most certainly not least, you will love, and I mean profoundly and indisputably love, every microscopic aspect of this new place you are about to call home.

You will cry when a quarter of your “college” chapter is all over and struggle during the long summer months, but the truth is, you will never really understand how lucky you are to begin (and now to have lived) such a deeply incredible and life changing 365 days. When I look back and think about you (me, except 12 months ago about to start my first year of school), I cannot even begin to describe the excitement and adoration I have for the adventure you are about to embark on. Although you're scared, anxious, nervous, and excited, I promise you this; it will be okay. Correction, it will actually be pretty great.

Always,

Soon to be sophomore in college, 19 years young, Jessy