Dear Future Me
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
Dear writer,
I also feel like everything I learned in highschool regarding research and writing papers has gone out the window. For me at least, we only ever used MLA format, so learning the APA structure has been a new challenge for me. I know that we will all be able to navigate refreshing our minds with old information together and it will eventually click again.
Accounting definitely is not an easy class, and the numbers can sometimes consume you and be daunting. I am sure that you will be able to get through it with hard work. Your professors are there to help you, and you should never be ashamed to answer a question even if you think it is wrong. At the end of the day, we are all trying our best and we are here to LEARN. The best learning comes from getting something wrong, figuring out why, and then facing the problem with even more knowledge now.
I am also interested in joining some clubs and feel the same way as if I only have so much time. I recently started playing club soccer, and was worried I was going to feel a massive hit only my free time but so far I have not. I have already met great people and made good connections through it however, and happy I went ahead and tried it out. I have learned that sometimes you just need 10 seconds of courage to say yes and do it, even when you have to step out of your comfort zone.
I hope that you reach your goals of working for the FBI, IRS, or start your own business. With the connections you make here, through classes, clubs, and teachers, I am sure you will be able to land a good internship and put your foot in the door you want.
Best of luck on your journey as we all figure out this thing called college together.