Who Will You Be in Four Years?

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

Dear future self,

It is my second week at college and there are so many emotions going through my mind. I am so excited to start my first year at Longwood. I hope you are reading this letter with pride knowing that you accomplished everything you dreamed and more.

For starters, I am hoping you took advantage of all the amazing opportunities that Longwood has to offer. Please tell me you still have the strong desire to be a labor and deliver nurse like we did in freshman year. Did you get outside of your comfort zone and take hard classes? I want to know if you have continued to stay as proactive as we were the first week of college. I hope you have made an influence with your education in your nursing career. One big thing I hope you take with you is to remember to have fun because college is more than just an education, it’s a new chapter.

Aside from academics, I want to know if you got involved at Longwood. I know the first couple of weeks of college we were timid about clubs and Greek life, but I hope you did join some sort of organization. I hope you have explored Farmville because it truly is a beautiful town. Did you go to all the basketball games like we hoped to? I hope you made lots of new friends and decided to move on from the boy from high school. New friends come with time so as long as you chose to be patient, I am sure by the time you are reading this you are filled with so many amazing friendships. I can trust that you chose to embrace all the challenges that were thrown your way. All the experiences you have faced along the way has built you into the incredible nurse we had planned to be. Remember that college is such a beautiful thing, it is supposed to help us grow and find our own independence.

Overall, I hope you stayed true to yourself. I hope you took advantage of the clubs, social events, and even academic activities. This journey should’ve helped you gain a better outlook on life, and it is my wish that you take everything you gained from Longwood University and carry it with you forever. I have no doubt that by the time you read this you will be working twelve-hour shifts helping mothers deliver their sweet babies.

With love,

Present Kristen

 

 
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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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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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Who Will I be in Four Years?

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

Dear Furture me,

I hope to attend medical school in the next four years. It is a long and hard road to get into med school, with a lot of sleepless nights. I know that I can do it if I put my mind to it. To my future self, I hope that we stick with it until the end and are still happy in the future. It is currently relaxed, but I am sure you have faced many challenges and continue to have these problems. However, I know that you can do it because you are not a quitter. I hope that you will find your passion for helping people and never hate your job. If there is one thing I do not want, it is to be in a job where I hate waking up and going in. I hope that you have enjoyed your time at college and have contributed to the community during your time here. The community here, as I have already observed, is a place where everyone is accepted for who they are. I hope that you help people who are struggling in any major and get involved with the people of tomorrow. Helping people is why we wanted to go into pre-med, so please do not be afraid to help someone who is struggling because that was you once. Just remember why you wanted to go into pre-med, because you wanted to help change people’s lives for the better. I hope that I was involved in the drama department and different internships in the pre-med field. I hope that you helped backstage in drama for whatever they needed, and I hope that these internships give you light on what you have to do. By now, you probably have an entire plan of what you want to do, but please remember the people that were there at your lowest. I hope for great things.

Sincerely,

Cody

 

Who Will I Be in Four Years?

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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Dear Tarynn of the future, 

This journey here at Longwood has been one to remember and it’s only been a month. I can not even  imagine the stories we have to tell our kids one day, from late night studies, to adventures with friends, these four years I’m sure have flown by. I’m so proud of you for making it this far, although at the moment we aren’t sure if nursing is what we want to do with our life, I know you’ve made the right choice no matter what it is, and that the goals we’ve set for ourselves although at the moment seem like a wish upon a star, have been reached because that’s just the kind of person we are. Whether you’re about to take your NCLEX or preparing to open the bridal store of your dreams, you got this. Was sisterhood everything we dreamed of? Did we find our bridesmaids? Did we soak up every moment? Hopefully we’ve taken every opportunity that has come about, and not taken any of  it for granted. College is supposed to be a place to find yourself. Who do you want to be? And what kind of an impact do you want to make? I aspire to make an impact not only at Longwood but also in the world, whether that be big or small that’s up to us. I hope we are still getting to do what we love, cheerleading has taught us so many lessons in life and we are now teaching what we learned to the next generation without a doubt. These years at Longwood I know have been life changing and even though it’s once again, even though at the moment we’ve only been here for a month; I can’t imagine ourselves anywhere else. Remember that in every situation, there’s always a bright side.

“Its just life, Will. It’ll be over before we know it.” – Rachael Lippincott, Five Feet Apart

You got this,

Freshman year self.

 

My Future Self

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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Dear future self,

I hope you had an amazing 4 years at Longwood! I know that it is coming to the end, but you will start a new chapter, and God will have your back going into that new chapter. Getting a job is going to be hard, but if you go through this and you are going to have a blast teaching the kindergartners. I hope that while you are here at Longwood that you get into a sorority like Mom was. I know cheering is going to be so fun, and being with your teammates is going to be so much fun! I really hope to see you being successful in your academics. If you are struggling, go ask for help. Don’t just sit there and not be motivated to do your work, cause when cheer season comes around, you need to stay on top of your work. I know going to college is scary, but you will get through this. After the first year, you will do just fine. Mom and Dad will have a house here before you know it, and summer will be here too! Be safe and make good choices because I know that there are some crazy people here, and never walk by yourself. After college, I hope you are living your best life and hoping to get married in the next 6 years and living on a farm! Cause you have always dreamed of living on a farm! I really hope that you have an amazing 4 years of college, and I can’t wait to see what you have done and all the amazing accomplishments you have made, and the new skills you have acquired at the games! I hope to see you on the mat for Daytona with all of your amazing teammates! Ok, that’s it, see you in 4 years.

 

  • Your Freshman year self, Mallory 
 
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Chase Williams First Blog

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

Hello future self, I just wanted to take a moment to remind yourself of your own hopes and dreams and also say I hope you have a fun adventure here at Longwood and enjoy your time while you are here in college. I hope and believe that you can achieve grades and do all the work and remember it is just one day at a time, and you will get through it all. College can be a little overwhelming, and it is essential to focus on it at the present moment and time. I know you are able to excel in all your classes and enjoy them while you’re at it. There are so many life lessons to learn in college, so focus, and you can set yourself up for an amazing future.  Some things I hope you do while you’re here are joining the soccer and basketball club teams. Also, in your four years, try to attend as many possible events around the school. Mom has always said it’s the easy and best way to meet new people and maybe even new friends. I hope you can find the right things and still be comfortable, like attending a food drive on the campus or even continuing your start to find a relationship with Jesus. Also, I just hope you are able to find that Ryan Homes internship and hopefully continue to become a project manager. I also hope you are able to maintain a strong relationship with both Justin and Ahmari. You have known Ahmari for so long, so that would be amazing and Justin has helped you so much in these first weeks of being at Longwood. One last thing that I hope you have done that doesn’t really have to do with school in general, but it still matters a lot and that is continuing to help people and don’t let anyone be alone. I promise it will help in the long run and nothing you do will go unseen because the lord is always watching on you.

 

Blog Post 1 Cullen Porterfield

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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Where do I want to be in four years?

 

Dear Future Self,

By now you should be about to wrap up your college career and journey into a new chapter in your life. I hope that you can look back on your college experience as an enjoyable and formative time. Throughout these years, I’m sure you will have many memories, some good and some bad. Overall, I hope that you use these days to better yourself as a person and better yourself academically.

I hope that you will be able to look back on the friends you have made and be grateful for their impact on you. I hope that they are loyal and care about you unconditionally. The type of people that you can’t stop laughing with, because once you stop, they make a face and you burst out in laughter again. I hope that you had many nights out where you got home way too late, and many nights where you stayed up too late studying to make up for it.

I hope that you took your classes seriously and earned good grades. I hope that you learned a lot of information that will benefit you not just professionally but personally as well. After these four years, I know you will be better at a lot of things. Things like time management, better study and learning habits, as well as a better understanding of how to use the information I have learned in my future career.

These four years will also make you a better, more productive person. Learning the mundane everyday skills like laundry, cooking your own food, and prioritizing your own needs will help you not just in the near future but throughout the rest of your life.

Overall, I hope that you took advantage of all the opportunities in front of you, and did things like playing club soccer, participating in Greek life, and studying abroad. All of these will be memories you will carry with you forever, and things that shape you into the person you will be in your new adult life. I am excited to see where you end up.

Best wishes,

Cullen