Letter to a New High School Graduate

Get ready for four years of a different kind of fun.

Originally published on June 5, 2017

Congratulations! You did it! You got your high school diploma and now you have a couple months of summer to prepare for your upcoming adventure: freshman year of college.

College is going to be a whole new world. Your parents won’t make your lunch. You won’t ride a bus to a school so small and familiar with classes from 8:30-3:00 every single day. You won’t see the same friends you’ve known since kindergarten each day. You may not be within a few minutes from home and all that is familiar. That might be a little scary, and will definitely take some adjusting to. For now, enjoy being at home with the familiar, and before you know it, you’ll be getting ready to leave.

College is about being independent. You can wear pajamas to class. You can have ice cream for dinner. Or lunch. Or breakfast. You can write in green crayon in a glitter composition notebook. You are in charge of you. That might mean assuming a little more responsibility than you might be used to. Use this summer to your advantage and learn about things like laundry and budgeting if you really haven’t before. It will make the transition into dorm life so much easier.

Here is another big different between high school and college: the decisions you make in college you make for yourself: what classes you take, what extracurriculars you want to get involved in, what you want your career to be. Gone are the days of taking every single subject because you have to, or forcing yourself into one more club because “it’ll look good on your college applications”. You’re in college now! Relax and enjoy yourself. Don’t get overwhelmed and worried about pleasing some faceless place. I’m just assuming you wanted to go to college, so have some fun with it.

The most important thing to remember is to be excited. This is a fresh start. You can start going by a different nickname. You can change your clothing style. If you’re going to a place where no one has ever heard of you and your embarrassing grade school stories, you can be a completely different person. You can also be the same person you’ve always been, if you like them. Just know you’re going to change. You’ll meet people you never would have been exposed to in high school, and will have professors who are so passionate about their subject.

College is a different world, and it requires a different mindset. You will need to keep in mind you newly found independence and blank slate with everything you do. Be open-minded. Think about the future.

Enjoy your summer, graduate. It will only get better from here.