Who Will I be In Four Years
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
Hello writer,
First I would like to say I really enjoyed reading your blog and it has many great points. As I read your blog I really relate to the goals you have as they are quite similar to my own. “ I want to pass my classes, stay on track, and get my degree” These three goals have been my motivation these past few weeks, with everything feeling like it’s being thrown on us all at once. These next few months at LU are going to be filled with lots of adjusting and learning this new way of navigating without the support of our life back home. Your point of view on not being in love with Longwood yet is so relatable. College can be so scary because you never know if you’re really going to feel at home until you’re here, even visiting campus was so different then actually being a student. I think getting involved is something everyone should do, finding a community and people you connect with is a great point. Like professor Baldwin has said “ find a community in all your classes”, these are the people you can count on. At the end of this chapter being able to say that you met your people in college and found your place at LU will be a sizable accomplishment to look back on years after graduation. Looking back at the time when spend here at longwood is something I also want to look back and be proud of, proud of myself for getting outside my comfort zone, proud for learning more about myself and who I want to be, and even more proud to have stuck it out through the hard times. A home away from home is what this place should feel like, the more time we spend here the more I believe we will love it.
-Reader
Hey Thomas! Reading your letter really put into perspective to me that we really are all alike in some ways, we just all handle them differently. I admire how honest you are about this big change you are going through right now. Adjusting to a new place with new people is never easy. I don’t believe anyone can ever know exactly how you feel, but I can relate to how you’re feeling right about now. We are all looking for a place to fit in with the right people and end up successful and happy. I know it’s not all exciting right now, but I promise it will get better. Change can be overwhelming and not everyone adjusts well at first and I admire the fact you are going outside of your comfort zone and giving Longwood a chance. I believe that with time, you will begin to feel more comfortable, and you’ll be able to look back and be proud of yourself for exploring something you weren’t so fond of in the beginning. I love the goals you’ve set for yourself, especially your determination to achieve good grades, I find we are similar in that aspect. I also admire your determination to obtain better studying habits, I find myself struggling and waiting until last minute to study and I often procrastinate when it comes to getting assignments done. I also hope you’re able to get more involved with the school like you hope to do. That would also help with meeting new people and gaining new connections and might help with finding a sense of belonging that we haven’t found here yet. Moreover, I hope you hold onto the pride you spoke of. Even when things get hard, the fact you continue to try and push yourself forward is something you should be very proud of. I’m very excited for the person you are on the way to becoming and seeing the future you are building.
Sincerely, Autumn