Dear Eager High School Senior,

I was you once. I was you exactly one year ago. I woke up in the morning, had the same breakfast I had been eating for the last four years, got in the car and drove the winding roads to High Point Regional High School. One year ago, I was annoyed by the poorly plowed parking lot and the fact that I needed to participate in volleyball during gym class. Each day to me was just another day closer to graduation, closer to summer, bonfires, pool parties, no homework and freedom. I wanted out. I wanted to leave those hallways and move on to the new friends, new accomplishments, new classes and new independence that college had in store for me.

I know you may be anxious for a "fresh start" or a "clean slate" in college, but it's also important to acknowledge how much of your identity has developed throughout your last four years in high school. Not only is your name engraved into the locker that you used as a four season athlete or displayed on the walls for achieving a high score on an AP test, a piece of you resides here. When I visited High Point over winter break, I realized just how much of my life I experienced there. I fell in love in those hallways, I screamed my heart out on those bleachers, I left my blood and sweat on those fields, I failed my first test in those desks (dang logarithms), I made my best friends in that cafeteria, I learned how to be a leader behind that podium, I became me. I developed more and more into myself each and every day that I walked through those doors. Cherish those moments. Take notice of those moments.

Don't stop working hard now. You have probably heard back from your favorite colleges and universities and are now gossiping with your friends, shining about how excited you are to decorate your dorm room and about how amazing it will be to live on your own, (Yes, decorating your room and buying Ben and Jerry's whenever you wish is a huge plus to college) but this does not mean you should stop studying for your calculus exams and history quizzes. Your education is valuable, and working hard all the way until the end will make holding that diploma in your hand so much more genuine, so much more real.

Take advantage of the relationships you can foster with your teachers, with the administrators and your guidance counselor. Get to know them, they are beautiful souls. Maybe they could not work the schedule in your favor so that you could take six AP classes, or maybe the principal told you that the straps on your tank top are too slim, yet I encourage you to chat with them, tell them about your college decisions or indecisions. These people have watched you grow and are beaming with pride knowing that you have made it. They are proud to read your name and hand you your diploma at graduation. They will still be there for you, even when your name is no longer in the student registry.

More than anything, I want you to enjoy every day that you have left. College is great! You learn so much more about yourself and your interests, you have the opportunity to study your favorite subjects, you can explore, you can sleep until noon if you want to, but just because something wonderful is waiting on the other side does not mean that you should rush the present. You still have three more months of high school. Three more months. Learn everything that you can, whether it be about the laws of thermodynamics or about your favorite flavor of coffee, learn it all. Allow yourself to reside in the familiarity of your current life because in three months, everything is going to change: your friends, your teachers, your interests, your bed, your town. You are going to change. You are going to change for the better. But right now, do me one favor and love exactly where you are.

All the best,

A Reminiscent College Freshman