Since We've Been Gone
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Since We've Been Gone

An open letter to my fellow graduates, one year later.

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Since We've Been Gone
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We did it! We made it THROUGH the finish line, finished that roll of toilet paper, and dived off the diving board from high school into the adult world. And as endless as all of these clichés seemed in our community meetings in high school, none of us knew just how fast those four years would go. Even more than that, no one anticipated how quickly our first year away from high school and each other would go. So this is for all of you, the friends of mine that I may have been slacking in the communication department with since I left for college a year ago.

First off, for those of you that went to college, holy cow! I am so proud of y'all! We are doin' the damn thing! The thing that we all spent our entire lives thinking about and planning for. I remember taking trips to Target and planning our dorm décor together and being so terrified of college life. The discussions about whether or not we would like our roommates (or more so if they would like us), the giant lectures, and the parties seemed to never stop. And now as we are all returning from our first year, we have discovered that there really was nothing to be afraid of, our roommates weren't THAT bad (right?), and we can't imagine a time before we knew how to "college". We all made it through our first year unscathed (kind of) and know that we can tackle the next 3....or 4....or 10.... with no problem.

To those of you that chose another path rather than college, or decided sometime during college that it wasn't for you, I am just as proud of all of you. You guys are adulting harder than I am. You are supporting yourselves, working, living life and that is something I have yet to accomplish in my college journey. I admire each and every one of you for knowing that college wasn't necessary or desirable for you. You are all killing it, even if it is in a different way than I am.

A lot has happened to me, and to you all, since we walked that stage together one year ago. So when we meet again, which we will, I'm sorry if the first question I ask is: "How was your year?" or "How has school been?". I know that these are the worst things for me to ask, but the truth of it is that neither of us will really know where to start. I do really want to hear about everything, but how do we sum up 9 months in one conversation? How do we explain that we have all changed so much? Regardless, I know that this summer is going to be amazing and that all of the fun stories will come with time.

I also want to remind you that even though we met in high school, I don't want to hang out with the same people I went to high school with. I want to see all of the growth that has come with our time apart. I want to see all of the progress you have made in life and in style and in intelligence. We don't have to act like the past nine months didn't happen, in fact, that would be super weird. So tell me about your new friends and all of the concerts and parties you went to. I promise I won't get jealous or weird. I love hearing the awesome things you have been up to.

Finally, I want to thank you, guys. Thanks for always being something to come home to. Thanks for understanding that college is hard and sometimes I suck at texting, and calling, and Snapchatting. Thank you for being there when I really want to talk about the drama occurring at our high school, even if we aren't there anymore. You all helped shape me into the successful college student I have become, and the person I strive to be. I know that this summer is going to bring back inside jokes, top-down car rides with blaring music, and lots of laughs and I can't wait to get to know the college versions of all of you.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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