Dear Almost High School Graduate,

You're graduating in a few months, and that's super exciting. What makes things even greater is that we'll be going to the same college. I've been here for a year, and I can tell you wholeheartedly that you are making the greatest decision in the world by attending this place.

Remember how the counselors in high school said those four years would be the best years of your life? They may have been right at the time, but I'm telling you that it's not the high school years you'll remember forever. It's the college years, no matter how many years you've spent here. To be honest, I've made forever friends here, and while I'm sure I'll keep the same ones I've kept from home, somehow, living in the same place as your friends forms a bond you wouldn't imagine.

I know I've already told you a lot about this school, and I know you've visited enough to want to be here. I mean, you're coming here, so I guess you can't back out at this point, but I do want to prepare you for all the things that could happen.

I've had friends who, even though they deserve the world, they let their heart fall into the hands of people who never knew in the first place how to take care of one, and my friends got hurt over and over again. I've watched panic attacks take place in the library during finals week, but students keep studying because if they don't, they don't do well in class and a bad GPA will be a marker of what got in their way. I've seen people need to hold onto their past for a semester because they couldn't adjust, and this was their first time really away from home. Like I said, there's a lot of bad, but there is so much good, too.

I've spent afternoons in Starbucks with someone for over two hours just because the conversation got away from us. Coming back from winter break felt like I was coming home instead of leaving it, and that's a feeling I never want to lose. Sports games may not be first on the agenda but supporting fellow classmates decked out in school gear is really awesome. Writing for the newspaper and being a part of student government really shows that there's a way to make a difference at this school, and that's so important. Racing with my teammates showed me the bond carries on both in and out of the boat, something you and I have learned over the past four years.

I hope you love it here, because I love it here, and if anyone belongs here more than me, it's you. Here's to graduating.

Sincerely,

Your High School (and College) Teammate and Friend