Dear Freshman,
You should be so excited. Your freshman year is going to be so much fun. You are going to learn amazing things about life, about yourself and about academics. You are going to grow tremendously as both a person and a student. You are going to change. And most importantly, you are going to have an amazing time.
It won't all be easy. Being away from home will be hard. Being away from the friends you've had forever will be hard. Classes will be hard. If you play a sport, that will be hard. Sometimes it will be hard to make friends. But all of these hard things will be worth it.
You're going to change. When you go home for winter break you will be a very different person. You will be a different person again when you go home for the summer. It's okay to change. It's good to change. You're growing up and that means changing.
Make as many connections as possible, with as many people as possibly. Make lasting connections with professors, faculty, coaches and everyone possible. They are there to help you.
Don't ever be afraid to talk to your professor. Introduce yourself on the first day so they know who you are, once you've broken the initial barrier you'll be able to go to them for help when you need it without being afraid.
There is someone on campus there to help you with everything you need help with. USE YOUR RESOURCES. As a freshman it can be scary to reach out to all of these faculty members that you don't know -- but they are there to help you, let them.
Every faculty member you encounter in college is a possible reference for a job later on. I know you might not be thinking that far ahead yet, but it's good to make those connections early.
Never forget to have fun. Classes can get overwhelming and you can start to feel like all you have time to do is study. If you're an athlete you probably feel this struggle even more. But college isn't only about studying and playing a sport or studying and working. College is an experience and it's important to make sure you embrace every bit of it. So enjoy yourself.
As a junior I can honestly say that the past two years have been the best years of my life so far. College has been such an amazing experience. I've met amazing friends that I believe I will have for a lifetime. I have become a completely different person than I was in high school (and a completely different person than I was as a freshman). I have made amazing faculty connections that have lead to great internship references and just amazing resources.
And I have had countless amounts of fun. I've spent hours cramming in the library, but I have also spent hours laughing with my friends. I've spent what feels like years practicing and playing my sport, but I have spent just as much time creating memories and going on adventures with the friends who have become my family.
You are about to embark on an amazing adventure. Embrace every second of it because it is going to fly by.
