Letter To Future Me

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25, Freshman

Dear future me,

Hello! I’m curious as to what my future looks like as a first generation college student. Did I make it through and graduate? Did I join many clubs like I told myself that I would? What does my military career look like now and do I want to do another contract? Am I still friends with everyone that I’m friends with now? Have I improved my social skills? Am I still on the path of becoming a high school history teacher?

I know it’s a lot of questions which hopefully have the answers I want, but a lot can happen in four years. It is true that things don’t always stay the same, and in some areas I wish that weren’t true but I know I need change. I want to help make a change in this world even if it is small. Do we still feel this way? Have we become bitter or do we continue to have a positive outlook on life?

How about our family? Did we manage to make them proud and the envious more envious? Right now I plan to go home every weekend because being away from them without communication has made me realize the importance of having them near and spending time with them. Did we go home every weekend like I planned? Did our relationships get better, are we closer now? I see longwood as my home, but it is my second home, not my main home, hopefully I ended up choosing to stay here the next four years but I guess I won’t know till I receive your letter back! Take your time with my questions and please answer in details, the length does not matter for I am deeply curious to know what happened to us while we were here!

 

How Does Your Experience Compare to Sarah’s–Blog Post 2 (Original:Groups 2&4)

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25, Freshman

Now that you’ve read the first 68 pages of the graphic novel Freshman Year, reflect on how the experiences of Sarah reflect your own. What was your summer like before starting college this fall? Where do your experiences vary greatly? If you’ve read ahead, do NOT reflect on anything other than the first 68 pages. Remember, this is a comparative reflection. Compare your experiences to those of Sarah and then reflect on your own experiences.

 

Blog Post 1- Reese Sherman

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

Dear Reese,

I hope you are reading this with all the Lancer pride after finishing the 120 credits you needed to make your dreams come true. The dream of becoming a teacher is no longer far away in the future. It is happening now for you. During the last four to five years I hope you challenged yourself more than you thought you could and never failed to reach out to professors, you asked for help when you needed it most, and did not let failure conquer the success you worked so hard for. 

I hope you fully embraced the traditions at Longwood that make being a Lancer such a blessing. Hopefully, you never missed the highlights like battling in Color Wars, getting muddy during Oozeball or fountain jumping before the first day of classes. I hope you spent time crown hopping around campus for good luck and visiting Joanie on a Stony, Joanie on a Ponie, and Joanie all Alonie as much as possible. I hope you never missed a sports game and of course never lacked the true Lancer spirit.

I hope you were able to join the club swim team at some point during your time in college. Never passed up a late night Walmart or cookout trip with friends, laughing uncontrollably with friends. At this point I hope you are not just leaving college with a degree but friendships that will last you a lifetime. 

I also hope that you took on some leadership roles like being a peer mentor for incoming freshmen. Or taking a step farther and being a tour guide for high schoolers that are trying to figure out where they want to go to college.

Most importantly, as you are closing out your college era of your life and step into the one you have dreamed of since you were little. I hope you step into your classroom with pride. While you let the young you leap with joy because it finally happened. We made it.

 

Much love,

Reese

Academic writing blog #7 Blog 3 Blog 9 Blog 10 Blog Post blog post #3 Blog Post #5 Blog Post #6 blog post #9 Blog Post 10 Blog Response CMS College experience First Blog Post FreshmanExperience Freshman Year Future goals Group 2 and 4 Groups 1 & 3 Humanities language MLA reference reflection research Sarah SLR structure structure language and reference week5 Who Will You Be Zine

 
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Who Will I Be in Four Years?

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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Dear future self,

As of right now I reside at Longwood University as a freshman. Although this experience is expensive, think of it as the next step to your goal. I haven’t joined any clubs or organizations yet, but this is just a stepping stone. I hope that you eventually find a place here on campus. I haven’t done anything yet, but what exactly do you plan to achieve?

In the next four years, I see myself  being very active on campus. I want to join clubs and organizations that represent/support wellness. I definitely want to be apart of the National Honor Society of Psychology.  Including, being a chairperson for the society. One of my biggest goals, is to work with service dogs. Within next four years, I should be training puppies to be service dogs. One of my top five goals, would be making the dean’s list. I foresee myself branching out more with my peers, especially networking with mentors during internships. Using my future networking skills, I will utilize my resources to be as successful as possible. Essentially, I will have found ways to properly maintain my peace. As far as morally, I hope that I am still following all my standards for myself. Most importantly, I hope that by now I’ve found a balance that works tremendously for me.

Overall Angel, I just want you to continue to be you. Yes, this is a different ball park, but knowing you, you’ll figure it out. This is just another experience that will be eventful, but leave a meaningful mark on your journey. Knowing you, just the idea of “adulting” sends you somewhere, but by now, you should definitely have adjusted to it. Continue to blossom, be outgoing, and allow God to order your steps as always.

Sincerely,

Freshman Angel

 

 

 

 

 
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ENGL 165 – 09 Fall ’24: Letter To My Future Self

Academic Writing, Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

Dear Future Abby,

           Transferring here as a sophomore took away one year of being a part of the Longwood community. I am still new to everything and am trying my best to branch out, but I hope you took advantage of the shorter time you had and put yourself out there. Longwood, as you know, offers an abundance of clubs and organizations. Seeing as a major part of your heart belongs to caring for animals, maybe you joined the STEP program where you train dogs to become service pets. You might have also found clubs related to your interests in debate and political themes, possibly researching into the different classes that incorporate those ideas as well. I am currently in a game club, do I stick with it every year of college? I also received a bid from the ABY Sorority the other day and accepted it. I am hopeful that you made friends with all of the sisters, current and new, and helped expand the sorority itself. Though it might be a bit of a reach, I hope the road eventually leads you to becoming an important member of the sorority and possibly one that can make actual change happen.

         When it comes to your academic successes, I hope you maintained a 3.2 GPA or higher, simply because I understand that some classes will be difficult and it is okay to not get a 100% on every assignment. I believe that you majored in English flawlessly and you took classes out of your comfort zone. There are moments in which I think that English is not the right fit for me, but I know you persuaded me to stick with it and kept me going. You should also have your next steps lined up so that you are not fearful of your future, or at least I hope you do. Right now, it is impossible for me to imagine the direction you are heading, but I know that your experience at Longwood was life changing. Even with the shortened amount of time we have here, I believe it did not deter you from making changes with yourself and the community around you. 

Sincerely,

Your past self

Citations:

Alpha Beta Psi. (2025). Alpha Beta Psi. Lancer Link.

https://lancerlink.longwood.edu/organization/alphabetapsi 

STEP. (2025). Service-Dog and Education Program at Longwood University. Lancer Link.

https://lancerlink.longwood.edu/organization/step

 
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A letter to future me.

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

Dear Future Nina,

I would like to start this letter off by asking about if we stayed at Longwood or transferred to the university near our house. If not, what made you decide to stay. Most of my thoughts about the future are just questions about who and where I will be.  Another thing I know we thought about is switching our major. If we did, which major did we end up deciding on? 4 years from now I will have already graduated and be in the workforce.

I know that one of our main goals as of now is to just make it through freshmen year with A’s and B’s, so I hope we were able to do accomplish it. I know I’m capable to achieve my dreams, so I don’t doubt graduating. I found out statistics is a class that psychology majors are required to take so I really hope we’re able to make it through that without an F.

Did you find people who want to be friends with us for us? I was hoping to join clubs and find organizations that I’m not only interested in but passionate about. Are there people who look up to us and what we accomplished at Longwood? Did we become closer to anyone from our floor?

What career path did we end up deciding on through the course of our journey through Longwood. I know that we really wanted to be an accountant but won’t go for it. Did we end up finding a career through one of our classes? My dream job after an accountant is just working remotely, so did we find anything like that, or did we decide to work in person instead? My last question is if we found a home at Longwood instead of going home every weekend like we currently are.

 
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Dear Future Me

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

Dear Future Me,

If you’re reading this, it means you survived four years at Longwood. Right now I’m just getting started, and honestly, I’m nervous, but also kind of excited. It has been years since I was in college, and I have forgotten all the rules of writing a research paper, using APA, or MLA. Hopefully, by now, you’re on the path to being a forensic accountant. Maybe you’re with the FBI or IRS… or maybe you decided to go after running a bank, or running your business. Who knows.

I really hope you made it through all those hard classes. Accounting isn’t exactly easy, and I want you to prove to yourself that you could do it. Hopefully, you landed at least one good internship—maybe with a government office or a bank—just so you could see what the real work feels like. I also hope you figured out how to manage your time better (because right now that’s not my strength, let’s be real).

I hope you got involved, joined a club or two, and found people you vibe with. Maybe you even tried out a leadership role, if you could squeeze in the time, because it would be good for you. I want you to have gone to events, met people, and made long-lasting friends. Dont be afraid to raise your hand and answer your Professor’s question, even if you get it wrong. Hopefully, you found mentors who pushed you a little further than you thought you could go.

But I don’t want you to only think about grades. I want you to have fun too. Go to games, laugh with friends, walk the High Bridge, maybe just hang outside and enjoy being in the moment. These years should be more than stress and late nights.

More than anything, I hope you’re proud of yourself. I want you to feel stronger and more confident than I feel right now. Even if stuff turned out differently than you pictured, I hope you kept moving forward and stayed true to yourself.

So… did you make it? Are you with the FBI, the IRS, or already running your own thing? 

– Me, at the start

 
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Who will I be in the next 4 years

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

 Dear Arleth,

This is the next chapter of your life and you must take every opportunity you can to succeed as a student. Meaning, you must prioritize school over anything that could pull you away from becoming the best version of yourself. Use all your time wisely even when taking breaks because the choices you make affect your future. It is going to be very challenging, that is why it is also very important that you make sure to take care of yourself as well. Rest, learn a new hobby, eat, and socialize. All of this will help you maintain good habits and good academic learning.

 I hope you can accomplish your goals, figuring out what you actually want to be in life, that you get to do a lot of hands-on experience and earn the knowledge and skills that you need to pursue that field. That you can do what you love and contribute to the community in some way. Make sure to get involved in organizations or even better, maybe challenge yourself and start your own club where people can also be part of and benefit from it. Get out of your comfort zone and become more open to try new challenging programs, complete internships, apply to a job related to your program and continue earning knowledge and skills from the experiences you can get.

I hope that you can get a job where you can interact with animals, especially farm animals. That way you can experience the type of life you would have once you reach my goal, working in a vet clinic has been one of your many goals before entering to vet school which is a great way to make good connections after you graduate from college. Pursuing  biology will provide you a lot of career choices to choose if the first option happens to not interest you anymore. so work on figuring out what you want to do for a living. Learn and grow, and don’t forget that it was worth the wait and the hard work.

Sincerely, Arleth Gomez.

 
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Who Will I be In Four Years

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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Dear future me,

As of writing this, I am in only in my second week at Longwood, and honestly, I am still trying to adjust. It feels strange being in a new place with so many new people, I do not love it yet, but I am trying to give it a chance. I hope that when you read this in the future, you can look back and see how far you’ve come and how much you have grown. My biggest goal while I am here is simple. I want to pass all my classes, stay on track, and earn my degree in psychology. I know it won’t always be easy, but I really hope that you have stayed focused and worked hard. I hope you have found a study routine that works for you and that you’ve been able to balance school with the rest of your life. I also hope you have gotten more involved on campus. Right now, the involvement fair is coming up and I am going to see what there is that I may be interested in. It will probably be a club sport or an academic honor society. I don’t want to just go to class and go sit back in my dorm. I hope you have met people who make this place feel, at least a little, like home and that you have built friendships that will last even after graduation. I hope that when you look back, you feel proud. Proud of sticking with it even when it was hard in the beginning. Proud of the degree you earned and the person you became along the way. Right now everything feels new and a bit overwhelming, but hopefully over time this place will start to feel more and more like a home away from home.

– Your freshmen self

 
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A Letter to My Future Self

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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Dear Ethan,

I hope your journey at Longwood has been one to remember. I hope you have made everlasting connections with teachers and students all around campus; connections that will push you into whatever future career you decide to pursue. You were nervous about going into this “uncharted territory” and apprehensive about being away from family.  I could not imagine a life outside of high school, without lacrosse and all my home town friends that you have known ever since you were a kid. Speaking of lacrosse, I heard there is a club team at Longwood that your roommates have been talking about. Troy and Caleb have never played before so I hope we can all become better and learn from each other. I hope you’ve pursued the club team and have traveled all over the United States playing great teams and staying in shape. The free food at the dining hall on campus definitely has not helped you very much.

I also hope you have achieved the degree you have been striving for ever since you were a kid. Remember the times Lolo would always talk about you getting that college degree he was never able to achieve? I hope you have remembered that and it motivates you. I hope you have sticked with “Longwood/Hampton Sydney Young Life” and continuing to grow in my faith. As you know, when you started at Longwood, your faith was such a big part of your life and I hope you have continued to find like-minded people who help you to heighten your connection with God. Even though we have been here for not even 2 weeks yet, I hope you have gotten involved in the communities around campus like greek life. When I first came to Longwood, I remember being introduced to Drew, who is an executive for Alpha Sigma Pi here at Longwood. You have practically met all the brothers at this point.

I anticipate that you will get involved in all the interesting things that this community and campus provide and you have made the most out of your time here. See you in 4 years.

Sincerely,

Your Past Self

 
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