I write this after having finished classes today. With finals just around the corner, my freshman year is coming to a close. All week, my friends and I have been talking about how crazy this is. Where did the time go? I swear we were just moving in yesterday. To commemorate this year, I've decided to do a little letter of reflection and gratitude to all I've learned in the past eight months.
Freshman year, I'm not sure I was ready for you, nor sure I would ever have been if you hadn't taken me by storm.
You've taught me a lot this past year.
For one, I've learned how to live away from home. Without my family, I had to make my own schedule, my own decisions. This is scary, but also freeing. Having to figure things out on your own can be difficult, but when you realize that even if you aren't living with the people you used to, you can still call onto them for help, things get easier to handle.
Along with this living away from home comes the living idea of living with roommates. Freshman year, thank you for teaching me how to coexist and share space with others.
Thank you for teaching me that it is okay to have a mix of silence and conversation in one's room, as both help create a home environment.
As I've written before, in my freshman year, I've experienced more rejection than I ever have in my life. The first few times hit me hard, and it was hard to recover. Yet, I've learned to see these moments of not being accepted into things as opportunities for growth, opportunities to reconsider what it is one truly wants, and to try again after reflection.
Freshman year, thank you for showing me that even when it seems like things aren't working out, there is always something better coming.
Whether you're someone I simply smile at when I see you on campus, or someone who I've had the pleasure to sit down with, share meals with, and get to know, freshman year, thank you for all the people that you've brought me into contact with. I've met some incredible people this year, ones I'm sure I'll never forget.
Freshman year, thank you for teaching me to not shy away from change, but to embrace it. There have been times when I've doubted myself, doubted shifts that were happening, wondering what I've been doing wrong. What I've realized is that being hard on yourself isn't worth it.
You have to show yourself a sense of compassion always, and remind yourself that you are doing the best you can.
Freshman year, you have taught me that hardworking students don't necessarily need to be stressed or studying all the time. You've helped me find a balance between work and play, which is something I greatly needed. A little procrastination is okay sometimes.
These past eight months have been some of the most transformative ones of my life. Something I've seen is how it's the little moments that matter, the little moments that add up into great connections.
That night where you stay up till 3 am waiting for cookies or Cam Co to come, that morning when it's snowing and yet you and your roommate go for a run anyways, that afternoon you spend laying in the sun, they all become the things that bring you closer to the people around you, and the memories you'll remember most.
I know I'll look back on my freshman year, and even though it wasn't perfect, I'll smile, because in the end, everything happened exactly as it should have.
I've stopped living with regrets, and I couldn't be happier.
This year, I learned how to make myself my own priority always, how to take care of myself. This year, I have found my voice and expressed it. This year, I've begun to recognize my own power. The list goes on and on.
Greatest of all, I've experienced a lot of love these past eight months.
I couldn't be more grateful for all I've experienced. I can't wait for three more years at one of my most favorite places in the world, surrounded by the best community out there.
And now, as my freshman year comes to a close, I want to thank you, readers, for following my journey. Everything is so appreciated.
Talk soon,
Sam