Dear Freshman Jenessa

Dear Freshman Jenessa, 

Yesterday, you registered for your last semester of college, and I've just gotta tell you that light at the end of the tunnel has appeared and it's beautiful. I'm pretty proud of the way things have turned out and I think you will be too, but you'll need some advice: 

College isn't as scary as it seems at first. It's big, but not too big for you.

It's ok to walk around alone, everybody does it. It's like the opposite of high school, it's cooler to walk by yourself. 

Don't take the Gender Studies class you're thinking about for spring. It's not what it seems and the teacher doesn't like you and trust me, you won't like her. 

Do your research on the arts and science degrees now. Avoid taking a year of Spanish that will just go to waste, you don't remember any of it later anyway.

Quit your job at the car wash and take all your classes on campus. Online classes are great, but before you know it, you'll be moving to Cali and that's all you can take. Enjoy on campus classes while you can. 

Watch your lectures and write your papers before the day before they are due. It seems great to have a few days without homework because you'll save it for later, but it's not great. It's just.... not. 

Move out when the opportunity arises, it'll be the best thing you've ever done.

Date a lot, but don't worry about how you feel about them if you don't feel much for them. And don't date them more than once. You'll find somebody a little bit later down the road and you'll feel silly for all that wasted time and energy. He's the one for you and you'll know it hands down. He shows you everyday just how true that statement is. 

When you feel ridiculous for taking 16-18 credit hours a semester, don't. It's not that much homework and the ability to graduate after just 3 easy years and no summer semesters feels fantastic.

Reading the material and watching the lectures really does wonders for your scores on tests. Sounds ridiculous that I have to tell you this, but... I do.

Go to institute, you need it. Plus the free parking pass is fantastic. You don't realize this until spring semester, so fix that. 

Be open and social, you meet some of the most wonderful people. Join the LDS sorority, also another one of those "best decisions you ever made" kind of deals. 

It's going to be tough and you may hate it at times, but these next 3 years are going to be some of the best in your life. Enjoy them and get the most out of them. You'll learn more about yourself and learn to love yourself more than you had ever imagined. 

Love, 

Senior Jenessa