To the 18 year old me,
Time flies. We hear it all the time and it may be cliché at this point, but it does. Life comes and goes, and before you know it, college will be over and you’ll be reflecting on everything you’ve done the past 22 years. So, don’t sit in your high school classes wishing the year away, counting the days until college, because I promise you, it’ll come.
While Brooks is a boarding school and has a college feel, it remains a high school, and to this day, they are some of the best memories you will have. Four years later, when college graduation nears, you will talk to your high school buddies on a weekly or even daily basis and there continue to be times you dearly miss it. So, cherish the moments you have left, hold them close and appreciate them. Enjoy sitting in your room doing nothing with your best friends, but have a great time doing it. Immerse yourself in the school, attend spring events, spend time in the dining hall, do anything you can do to be with your classmates and teachers, because for you, you can’t go home to them during college breaks; this is it.
Boarding school is unique. Some of your friends live hundreds of miles away, even across seas, so once you leave, you may merely see them every five or ten years for reunions. While I know you already realize Brooks will be behind you soon, realize just how much you’re going to miss it. College will be a phenomenal experience and you’ll make plenty of other lifelong friends, but you and your high school boys have a unique bond. There’s something special about growing up together, being happy for one another upon receiving college acceptance letters, and making those high school mistakes we will laugh about years later. I know you’re nervous about a new beginning, but stop worrying so much, it’s going to work out how you envisioned it.
Right now, you’re telling yourself how boarding school has prepared you for college and you’re ready to face new academic and athletic challenges, and you’re right. In fact, much of your Nazareth experience is going to work out better than you could have imagined. You’re going to meet professors who show you your path, teammates and friends you’ll greatly appreciate, and a girl you share your entire experience with who changes your life to bring out the very best in you.
College is a life changing four years and while the social transition is nerve racking, it’s all going to work out. When you show up to freshman orientation it’s easy to skip events and hide in a corner, but don’t do it. Go to the ice cream socials, buy into the awkward ice breakers, introduce yourself to your classmates, and be outgoing in the dorm. I realize it’s a challenge, but if you embrace the challenge and make an effort to meet people it will be worth it in the end.
In your final months of high school, as college slowly approaches, don’t catch an extreme case of senioritis. Catch a little one, but nothing excessive. Go to class, take your AP tests seriously (it’ll make a difference), train for athletics, but ultimately, do whatever you can do to make the end memorable. College is definitely something to look forward to, but at the end of day, don’t wish for the conclusion because it’s going to come on its own. I promise.
Read the rest of the series here: