Dear 18-year-old college freshmen Marissa,
Congratulations! You made it out of Danbury High and into UNH. You’re finally here to start what everyone calls “the best four years of your life”. You always wanted to get away and you finally took the plunge. While you are terrified now and contemplate transferring home there are a few things I want you to consider and understand before you take the easy way out…
UNH is the perfect school for you. I know you wanted University of Delaware because it was pretty…you even cried when you got that declined application but really UNH will become your home away from home. There will come a time where you don’t even want to ever go home…trust me.
Don’t stress too much over your work, at the end of the day you get a piece of paper to prove you went to college. (Seniors you feel me on this right?) Just don’t get off on a bad start, because you will spend the rest of your college career trying to fix it. Because in the end you will never remember the class time but you will remember the time you wasted singing Ja Rule and Ashanti on your kitchen counter with your three roommates. The work never ends, but college will.
Take chances. Go abroad! Do things that scare the absolute crap out of you. Whether your going with a group of friends or a complete stranger…it’s worth it. Go to every concert on campus, go road trip to Penn State, go bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. Do it ALL just because you can.
Take your mom’s advice, go Greek. She knows something about college while you may not immediately think she does. She will lead you down a path that saves you from leaving it all. You’ll end up with some of your best friends that you may never have met if you didn’t rush.
Know that there still are good guys in college. Don’t trust so easily at first. There are plenty of douschebag freshmen boys that will make your heart ache like it’s never done before. Don’t give in to the stereotypes like all the athletes are the cool kids (that only lives up in the movies). Just know you will meet someone eventually that makes it all worth it in the end.
Realize that you are going to be making friendships that will last a lifetime. While in the beginning you may think you need to be friends with everyone or that if you don’t have plans every single night you aren’t cool enough…it’s not true. You won’t really make your core group of friends until Junior year, so don’t get impatient. Remember how you left high school with a couple of great friendships that you still hold close to your heart…well it’s just going to be that much stronger. You are going to meet your sisters. Those ones you always asked for growing up. The ones that you will never be able to picture your life without.
Understand that these four years really are the best years of your life and they are going to go by faster than you know it. You are going to see yourself in a completely different light at the end. You won’t be the freshmen girl who goes in to take the philosophy midterm instead of the anthropology midterm. You’ll learn who’s really there for you and who always will be. You’ll learn what life is all about. So stay out late every night you can, spend the money you certainly do not have, and be irresponsible because these are the years you can. Don’t ever rush it and savior every moment.
Love,
A little wiser Senior version you