Dear Incoming College Freshmen,
As graduation approaches, all of you high school seniors just can't wait to get to college.
College is a very...interesting experience. For some of you, it will be everything you ever hoped for, and for others, it will be everything you never imagined. College is where you will learn to be an adult, it's where you'll grow as a person, where you'll start appreciating the smaller things in life.
This summer what I suggest to all of you is to spend most of your time with your family and friends. You most likely won't see these people often in the following years of your life. Also, eat at your local taco shop or donut place more often, because once you get to college you'll realize nothing really owns up to those places you grew up eating at or your mom's homemade cooking.
Education wise, there's a lot you should be prepared for. College is a lot different from high school, high school was easy for most of you folks. Well, in college things get real, .5 point grades won't get rounded up, your professors won't care about the effort you put into the class, and your best friend might just be your textbook. Speaking from personal experience, I never studied in high school, A's just came naturally. If you are anything like me, you'll need to learn how to learn...literally. Know that your professor probably won't be the number one go-to source of information - it might, in fact, be a tutor, a friend, TA, Khan Academy or Crash Course.
As your first semester is flying by, it will get harder, you'll start calculating your GPA, and start rethinking everything you wanted to be in life. In the midst of feeling like this, don't lose yourself or your dreams. One of my professors once told me "Guys, be yourself, don't lose who you are." I realized that he was right. When you get super stressed out about an exam, about your grades and what's going to happen, that's when you start to lose yourself. See, when you get to college you get so lost in this new lifestyle that you forget what you really love, or what kept you going every day in high school.
So, once you get to college do things you've always loved to do, like playing a sport, an instrument, a certain club you were a part of, anything! Don't lose what you love and what has made you the person you are today. More importantly, don't forget your dreams and aspirations the first semester, you owe yourself more than to just give up that soon.
Each and every one of you freshmen will be scared the first day of school this year around, it's OK. I promise the kid sitting next to you in lecture is just as scared and nervous, so shake their hand and introduce yourself, you might just have met your best friend. Also, through the mess of grades, friends, football games and meetings, don't forget to keep in touch with your roots, your family and yourself.
