Dear High School Me,

Hi. So you're probably lost and confused and have no idea what you're doing. Neither does current you. You're probably thinking that high school is the worst thing imaginable, everyone there is out to get you, the teachers hate you, you're up late every night doing work. It sucks, and there's only so much you can do about it.

But things will change so much.

Once you graduate from that place, you'll see that it was only one small part of your life. There's so much more ahead of you, and high school won't even matter. All those people that you were friends with ended up leaving. That was their choice, and it was nothing you did. You're fine. You're going to meet people who are so much nicer to you, and you won't even think about the people who made high school a living hell for you.

Your professors are going to want to help you. They don't want to see you fail, and not because they don't want you in their class again. They want to see you succeed and go on to bigger things in life. Your RAs are there for you too. I didn't think that I would ever have to speak to mine, but it happened. And now we're good friends.

College is much different than you think it is. You probably think that it's staying up all night drinking coffee and writing papers. That's only half true. Right now you do drink a lot of coffee (and your bank account is taking a hit, so please stop), but your papers aren't that bad. You can manage it. Just don't wait until the last minute.

You know how everyone makes fun of you now for not being smart? That barely happens now. You're so much better than what you believe, and it's because you're no longer around toxic people. You were cast in a show your first semester. You decided not only did you want a 24/7 major, but also two minors. You're a team captain. You're applying to be an RA. You have really good grades. You should be proud of yourself.

You've come a long way and you need to believe in yourself. Things will get better. I promise.

Love,
College Freshman You