28 Hopes I Have For All Incoming Freshmen

“One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.” – Sigmund Freud

1. I hope you smile at that cute guy or girl who sits next to you in class on the first day.

2. I hope they smile back.

3. I hope you realize that, for the next four years of your life, you are hotter than you ever have been and ever will be.

4. I hope you sign up for every club that interests you; even the ridiculous ones, like “Razor Scooter Club”.

5. I hope you take advantage of your student ID by getting discounts online and around town.

6. I hope you run away from emphatic men wielding bibles on campus.

7. I hope you never believe the lie that you are not beautiful, smart, good, [insert every quality you wish to have] enough. You are more complex than the standards to which you measure yourself.

8. I hope you spend more time laughing than you do crying.

9. I hope you listen to people who are nothing like you.

10. I hope you learn from them.

11. I hope you share your thoughts and speak up in class.

12. I hope you smile and brush yourself off when you fall down the stairs, or crash your bike, or get turned down by that coworker you have a crush on. Embarrassing moments make the best stories.

13. I hope you run for president of an organization you are proud to be a part of.

14. I hope you adopt a faith; whatever that means for you.

15. I hope you take care of your physical and mental health.

16. I hope you pay no attention to people who expect you to be someone you are not.

17. I hope you do not try to change yourself for them.

18. I hope you know it is okay to not be happy all the time, and to have some days when you do not feel like this is the best time of your life.

19. I hope you take yourself out on a date.

20. I hope you spend time alone with your thoughts.

21. I hope you go out to bars, jump in fountains, ride in shopping carts, dance on tables, wear clothes you feel confident in, stay up all night with friends, and eat a dozen cookies at three in the morning;

22. I hope you do not take life too seriously.

23. I hope you volunteer and get to know the locals in your community.

24. I hope you vote.

25. I hope you mentor a freshman in a few years.

26. I hope you go to class and study well, but I also hope you seek out the value of lessons learned outside the classroom.

27. I hope instead of finding “the one” that you find your passions, and hold on to them, and refuse to let them go.

28. Above all, I hope you remember through every stumble, every hard day, and every moment you want to give up, that this experience – the adventure that is college – will only happen once, so cherish it; take advantage of it. Let this truth be the driving force for every decision you make these next four years as you build the foundation of the rest of your life. A life built on gratefulness, joy, and love. A life only you can imagine.