what this year has taught me

three of my best friends at school and myself.

since today is my official last day of being eighteen, i thought i'd write a little letter to my seventeen year old self of what to expect in the following year. 

dear year-ago me.....

you're about to turn eighteen.  you're nervous about going to college.  you're nervous about making new friends.  here are some things you should know:

*it's okay to cry.  crying doesn't make you weak.

*life is short.  someone you have only known for a year will die suddenly and it will rock your world.  tell people you love them today instead of waiting for tomorrow.

*don't wear nice shoes to a frat party.  you'll have to throw them out.

*some people you meet in college are real jerks.  but some become your best friends.

*you'll lose touch with people from high school.  but the one's you stay in contact with are true friends.

*nine times out of ten you won't be able to go out at night after day drinking.  

*greasy food really is the best hangover food.  bagels are good too.

*naps are good.  like really good.

*family is really important.  you'll miss them when you leave.

*you know how you hated the town you lived in during high school because it was boring on the weekends?  you'll appreciate it a lot more.

*small towns are great towns.  

*want to drunk text that boy?  just don't.  trust me.

*how i met your mother got it right.  nothing good happens after two in the morning. 

*never say never.  you may be a vegetarian now but in a year you'll be eating hamburgers.

*it's important to have good guy friends.  

*you don't need to be stick thin to be happy.  appreciate what your body can do.  those six day a week practices?  yeah you need muscle and strength for that.

*everything happens for a reason.

*it can happen to you.  those stories your parents, teachers, and adults tell you about kids dying from alcohol?  one of your good friends will die from it.  it CAN happen.  be careful.

*people will disappoint you.  but holding a grudge sometimes is just stupid.

*if they're an ass to you the first time, they'll be an ass to you again.

*sometimes the best nights involve dance sessions in your friend's dorm room, drinking too much hot cocoa, and having prank fights with your best guy friends.

*be careful walking down the stairs.  it's completely possible to break your foot and end up in a cast from it.

*by the way, remember when you were little and thought crutches were so cool?  crutches suck.

*remember how you wanted to be a biology major?  yeah, no.

*but speaking of that, work your ass off and you will see results.

*your first year of college will be the best and worst year of your life.  but i would do it over and over again because it was so much fun.

this year has taught me so much.  so you know what, nineteen?  bring it.