To The Nostalgic High School Senior

I remember my last week of high school very vividly - starting Monday morning thinking about how this was probably the last time my mom would ever make my lunch, and how it would be exactly how I liked it, before I started having to eat the 'dreaded' dorm food, before living in a room the size of a coat closet, and before sharing a bathroom with 40 other girls. I remember going to my senior breakfast where we 'tailgated school' and played frisbee in the parking lot, my last day of dance team where I got to hand down my treasured job of co-captain and prayer leader before each game. I remember riding my bike to school with 30 or so other seniors on my last day, and crying my way through the halls as I found each individual teacher to get my infamous 'yellow sheet' signed stating that I had no unreturned books, missing assignments, or unresolved squabbles and was good to go for Sunday at 4:00.

I remember driving home from my last graduation party on Sunday night around 2:00 and seeing the sign at Mother Theresa Catholic Church that simply read 'Congrats to the Grads" - it was dimly lit and one of the letters was crooked, but as I finished my drive home, I realized how incredibly content I felt with my life at that very moment. That week I started working for the summer at my favorite job - not too concerned about college, mostly worried about what that evening or weekends' plans were. But I remember, as August crept closer, feeling more nervous. What would happen to the family that I had been apart of for 13 years? Would it feel different to go home again? Would I still be close to my sister? I had been saying that I was 'ready to move on' for months, but what if I didn't like college?

To the nostalgic high school senior; I promise it will all work out. That dorm room you are about to move into seems small now, but within a few days it will seem like the homiest place in the world. That bathroom may seem scary, but I promise you will be forced to bond with those other girls by brushing your teeth in the morning together or trying to figure out why there's a red velvet cake on the floor in the bathroom (yes, that happened). You will meet your RA and they will be your 'mom away from mom' when you need them, but your real mom will still always your number one phone call away, and trust me, you will utilize that. You will learn to appreciate your car when you have to park it three miles away from the dorm and that run to the store is unavoidable at 2 a.m. because you NEED Chinese (and it's probably pouring down rain). You'll learn how little time it actually takes you to get ready in the morning when you've been up since two studying (or listening to your roommate talk about her date last weekend)

To the nostalgic high school senior, your high school will always hold a special place in your heart, and trust me, nothing is as special as reuniting with your high school friends and catching up on significant others, who has changed their major the most, and who hasn't actually ATTENDED their sociology class this semester. It will feel different to go home, but it will feel like the most comforting thing in the world - after being away for a few weeks, Betty Crocker couldn't make anything as good as your mom can and suddenly YOU are the one annoying your younger sibling because you want to spend time with THEM.

To the nostalgic high school senior, suddenly, your college friends become a part of your family. When you run out of gas, suddenly they are a lot closer than your parents. The first time you really, really mess up anything on your own, they are the ones you run to. And when the fire alarms go off every hour and a half because of a leaky pipe during finals week, THEY are the ones who truly understand your pain.

To the nostalgic high school senior, I promise you that the best part about college is choosing your own niche. Choosing the people you hang out with, the classes you take, the way you spend your weekends. Your freedom dictates your happiness and success, and you have the opportunity to choose whether or not you will 'like college.' I promise you that your professors are nothing like the English version of Professor McGonnagal.

As I'm writing this post, I'm sitting on the floor of the library, drowning in my own physics and neuroscience notes. I have dishes from dinner three hours ago that need to be taken home and washed, a cup of sweet tea that's getting me through tonight, and a Royals game to watch with some friends that I'm pretty excited about later. College is a little less predictable than high school, we just got kicked out of the library for an hour because of a 'leak' (whatever that means) with nothing but our phones. But, hey, memories, right?


To the nostalgic high school senior, I promise it will be okay. You will make friends, some for keeps and some not so much. You will make grades, some for keeps and some you could have done better. But I promise you that the memories, whether it be a college game or a Chinese food run at 2 a.m., will be well, well worth the nerves.