Dear Freshman Year,
Wow. I can't believe this has really come to an end. It seems like just the other day I was moving into my dorm and having to say goodbye to my family.
Both you (and the university) have treated me so well this year. Yeah, some times weren't all that great. There were times I had mental and emotional breakdowns in the library, where I wanted to distance myself from my friends, where I couldn't bring myself to leave my dorm, times I didn't want to eat because I was so stressed. But when I look back on you, one word comes to mind. Fulfillment.
When I first pulled up to the Rutherford Hall parking lot, I didn't quite know what to expect. My roommate was already there, and although we had texted sometimes, I wasn't quite sure if we would be friends or even get along. I was worried she would be the passive aggressive type of roommate who would get mad at me for my alarm going off so many times to wake me up for my 8am classes, or would complain that there was no fridge space for her food.
One worry I had constantly throughout the summer was making friends. I was most definitely the shy girl in high school, and never put myself out there too much. What was I going to do in college, when the boat was much bigger and the stakes much higher? Would I be a loner who just stayed in her room all day and read books? Would I be the one person always sitting alone in the dining halls?
College classes were a whole other ball game. Was I really ready to start the beginnings of my career path? My declared major coming into school was biology, but I heard all kinds of things that swayed me. "You know 80% of biology majors change majors after the first semester." "Most people taking General Chemistry I drop out as well." "A lot of people change their majors about three times before deciding on one."
Instead of letting these doubts get to me, I took them in and used them as energy for my efforts.
When my parents left, I had no idea what to do. My roommate had left the room, so I decided to follow suit and go outside as well. And I swear that if I hadn't left the room on that very first day, I would've missed out on so much.
Instead of holing myself up in my room, I went out of my way to talk to new people and sit with them at the dining halls. Instead of letting worries about my performance in class deter me, I made sure I was up for the challenge and able to meet the demands. Instead of being aloof towards my roommate, I was open and shared funny stories with her and made our shared space a place to chill. And these are the things that contributed to how I grew as a person over this past year.
This past year, I've had more confidence in myself than I've ever had. I've met so many amazing people from different places. I've gotten involved in clubs and organizations and have taken classes I've enjoyed and learned that even though biology is a very difficult major, I love it more than anything in the world.
My dad said something to me this year that really stuck with me. He said, "people will come and go, but your career will always be there." And it's so true.
Freshman year, I'm so glad I got to be social and make new friends. It seriously means the world to me that you would bring so many incredible, talented, funny, kind individuals into my life and that God would bless me immensely with their presence. But if there's one thing I'm most thankful for, it's for showing me that I can do anything I put my mind to.
Whenever I'm sitting in the library crying over my GPA with a chemistry test the next day, I think of what my dad said to me. Because ultimately, college is the platform to the career of your life if you're willing to work hard.
If you're starting college soon and are reading this, my advice would be to just go for it. Take that class everyone said is hard. Stick with your difficult major. It doesn't matter as long as you're passionate about it. Go to the professor's office hours or talk to your TA. You may learn something from them. Rush if you want to, because you never know what you might get. Sit down with that random person in the dining hall and get to know them. Do something nice for your roommate. Go all in with your faith, because God is so good and has already blessed you so much. Just live your life, because although freshman year is daunting, it's incredible what can happen in just a year.
