Hey me a year ago, it’s me today in the present. Right now I know you’re busy with preparing for graduation, the musical, and everything else going on in your life right now but I’m going to need you to stop and take a listen to what I have to say. After living through one semester at college, I’ve gained a bit of wisdom that I need to share with you – some things I wish I had known going in that I didn’t. Things that I’ve learned along the way through last semester and the first half of this one.

I’d like to start off by telling you that first semester of college does not go as well as we had hoped it would. It’s a huge adjustment period, but don’t worry – you get through it. I just have some words of advice to give you real quick.

College isn’t high school.

You’re an honors student in high school, you do minimal studying and make exemplary grades. But here in college, you’re studying your behind off for mediocre grades – and you don’t like this, mediocre isn’t exactly your style. It feels like you’re struggling to even stay afloat. First semester was a slap of reality to your situation – in all honestly, it was horrible. You passed all your classes, but just barley and you even studied, boy did you study. And still, it just seemed to not be enough to get that A and B you’re used to receiving. It hurts. This brings me to my next point.

Your grades do not define your worth.

You really begin to figure this one out and realize it in counseling (Yes, you go to counseling. You finally give up your need to keep it bottled in and go. And it was the best decision you made first semester hands down). This by far was something that weighed down on you first semester and gave you a lot of grief, a lot of anxiety, and a lot of tears. But it’s something we’re working on still – a work in progress. It’s okay, one day we’ll get there. And while we’re on the subject of grades, let me say this:

It’s okay to not excel.

I feel like nobody really gets told this going into college, and it by far is something I feel like I could have used. It’s okay to not do well. Failing a test is okay, repeating a class is okay. It isn’t ideal by any means, but it’s okay. You’ll survive, eat that pint of Coldstone you keep in the freezer in case of emergencies while binging Netflix, and keep on going. Chin up, smile on, it’ll be okay. You aren’t the first to go through this and you definitely aren’t the last.

You’re only human.

You’re not perfect. You’re not going to get all A’s. You’re going to struggle. You’re going to fail. You’re going to get upset, you’re going to cry. You’re only human and you’re going to encounter all these things, it hurts at first but you’ll build up a resistance to it and eventually move on. Because if you keep looking back to the past, all you’ll see is your mistakes instead of looking forward and seeing your opportunities to grow and overcome. Keep your expectations realistic. You can only do so much.