Dear Freshmen,

So you've survived your first week of college, and you couldn't be more excited to have accomplished such a monumental event. Your classes are already overwhelming – they're way more interesting than any high school class, but there's also a lot more work that goes into it. This is where it gets interesting though. Many people, myself included, glided by their senior year of high school with easy classes but now it's time to be challenged, to have your values questioned, to realize some friends are not worth holding on to and figuring out who is, to finding yourself.

The four years spent in college are probably the most important years of a person's life. Yes, people choose to go to college to get a higher education, but you learn way more than what you bargained for. For one, you learn how to live on your own, which is probably one of the most important steps in becoming an adult. You learn to challenge your beliefs and question things you never thought needed questioning. You begin to think critically not just about your immediate surroundings, but about events happening all around the world. You learn to think bigger and brighter.

Possibly one of the most important things happening during these four years is the emotional change and growth a person goes through. You may experience love so deep that sometimes it hurts, but with that comes the possibility of being heartbroken. You begin to understand what true friendship looks like and the crashing realization that your friends from years back may not be the best people to put your faith in. You may find out that the person that gets up at 3 a.m. when you are freaking out about some silly thing and stays with you until you are OK may be your best friend. College completely changes how you look at friendships; you wouldn't think you could possibly get so close with someone so fast, but at the end of the year you realize the person you consider your best friend, you only met nine months ago. All of this helps shape you into the adult you’re supposed to be.

I believe college is not just for getting an education, but it’s one four-year course in teaching you how to become an adult in an environment that will help pick you up when you fall down, and you will fall down. The important part to remember is to get back up and keep trying. I’m a big believer in the phrase, “Everything happens for a reason,” so no matter what the world throws your way, it’s just to make you stronger and more able to combat it the next time around.

So, you’ve survived your first week of college and you have the next four years completely wide open. Try new things, change your major a few times, put your trust in the wrong person and learn from it, fall down 100 times but get up 101. It may seem intimidating now because you're now the little fish in the big pond again, but take a deep breath and get ready, because you’re in for one wild ride.

Sincerely,

A girl who used to be in your place