Dear Freshman Me,

So you spent your first day on campus miserable. You tried to hide your tears while you hugged Mom goodbye, but little did you know your roommate was crying about her family leaving too. Trust me, it gets better. I know you cry every time you have to leave your family and your boyfriend when you come back to school, but someday, you will catch yourself calling your dorm room “home.” It’ll be weird at first, but you’ll have made the kind of friends that make school feel like home. Some of them will be your sisters someday. Most of them will last forever.

Some of them won’t. And that’s okay. Not every single person who walks into your life will last forever, and that’s totally fine. Sometimes even the people who you think will be there forever walk away, and that’s fine. You’ll survive. You’ll be great. You’ll make even better friends next year, and you’ll cherish the ones who stood next to you from the beginning, like your roommate. She’ll tell you like it is and you won’t like every word that comes out of her mouth about it, but she will be one of the best things life will give you. She’ll be one of those forever people I was talking about.

So have fun with your forever friends. You’ll regret the nights you skip out on them for some boy. You’ll regret skipping out on yourself even more though. You may not realize it, but you’ve pushed yourself onto your own back burner. Don’t do that. Make yourself a priority. Say yes to yourself more. Make your experiences and your memories a priority. So you want to go out with your friends on the weekends? Do it. Go out. Do it every weekend if that’s what makes you happy, and trust me, it IS what will make you happy.

But don’t forget to keep your grades up and to stay involved. Take some pride in yourself. It seriously pays off. Remember all the clubs you were a part of in high school? Remember the honors societies and fun groups you always dreamed of being a part of in college? Remember the internships you dreamed of having in college? None of that will be possible without keeping up your grades. Sitting around watching Netflix in your room is great on a lazy Sunday, but not every day. Please get up and study. Do your homework. Get a job. Join some clubs. Motivation comes with momentum, I promise.

Those words are also applicable when it comes to your body. You’ve spent your year eating pizza every week and watching Netflix more than you want to admit and you’re wondering why your body changed. That’s no way to live. Get up and run. I know you hate it, but you’ll feel less tired after, it’ll relieve stress, and like I said, motivation comes with momentum. The more you do it, the more you’ll want to do it. Create healthy habits. Say no to fries and yes to fruit. It’s an adjustment, but you’ll start to feel more energetic. There’s no problem with your weight or body shape right now, but there is a problem with not taking care of your body and not prioritizing your health. So please, eat something green and do some squats. You’ll feel a lot happier.

With that being said, don’t hold yourself back too much though. If you’re sad, eat that big bowl of chocolate ice cream you’ve been day-dreaming about. Go get yourself some chicken nuggets. Maybe even take a day off of the gym and ugly cry while you watch The Notebook. And if you’re happy, treat yourself to a milkshake. Have a dance party in your dorm. You should definitely take college seriously-your classes are hard and you need to focus on them-but remember to take it lightly too. College is supposed to be reckless and fun so let it be. Let it be the best four years of your life. You’ll thank yourself later for it.