To my high school senior self,
Right now you are about to embark on the most self-defining year of your life. You are going to go through things you had always hoped you wouldn’t have to go through. You will lose friends you never thought you could live without and you will strengthen friendships that make senior year worth it. Just know you will come out of it a better person.
Do something you wouldn’t normally do. Get out of your comfort zone. The best thing you can do is not be afraid. Take chances. You don’t want to look back and have regrets. The what-ifs are what make people live their lives never looking forward.
I know you have this picture perfect image of how you want senior year to go. But know, it is OK if it doesn’t go perfectly as planned. Planning out everything will just set you up for disappointment. Living in the now is something that will really benefit you.
That college you wanted to go to, yeah, you won’t get in. But it’s the best thing for you! Now yes, it may be the most beautiful campus in the world, and yes, it’s your family college, but you are different than your family. Go where you know you will be happy and enjoy every second.
You are going to go through the most difficult couple of months in your life. You are going to lose a lot of friends and feel lost and confused. But you will come out of it better than you were before. You will have the most amazing people behind you the entire time. They will become your best friends and will show you what true friendship is supposed to look like.
Don’t try and be someone you aren’t because you will look back and get so disappointed in yourself. Just because you are afraid you may get judged or will lose friends isn’t a good reason to not be true to who you really are. Those friends who can’t accept you for you aren’t really your friends. Being you is the best because you are pretty awesome.
Don’t go through senior year just counting down the days until your last day of classes and then graduation. Of course, you want to be done with waking up at 6 a.m. every morning and having to do homework every night, but remember, you have friends younger than you who don’t want you to go. As you always tell people to live in the now, take your own advice. Don’t wish high school away. I know it’s been difficult, but you will look back on it as the most crucial point in your life.
Don’t get me wrong, college is the best thing in the entire world. You will figure out who you are and what you are meant to do in this world. You will finally be able to choose happiness before anything else. Just for the time being, live in the now and don’t be someone that you aren’t.
Love,
College freshman you
