Dear Future Eagles...

It came to my attention this summer that I am 1/4 done with college. This revelation managed to make me sad, excited, nervous and extremely nostalgic at the same time. My first year went by so fast, but at the same time, I don’t feel like I’ve missed out. I have studied till the wee hours of the morning, I have slept till 11, I have taken more notes than I thought possible, I have rolled out of bed 20 minutes before class and still made it, I have guzzled SO much coffee. I have written a paper in a day (Amanda and Caroline FTW), I have aced tests, I have failed tests. I have laughed so hard I cried and my sides hurt, I have cried my eyes out on friends’ shoulders, I have given about a million hugs, I have taken hundreds of pictures. And I have come to love OC, and know for sure that I couldn’t spend the next 3 school years anywhere else. I can’t believe that I will be one of the “old pros” this year, and that there is already a new group of freshmen coming in.

So here's my letter to the next generation of OC Eagles:

You’ve picked such a great school. I’m so happy you want to come. You couldn’t ask for a closer community, better teachers, more stupidly fun activities or more spiritual growth opportunities. I hope you’ll take a soon-to-be-upperclassman’s advice and have a wonderful freshman year.

First off, during Earn Your Wings week, stay out of your room as much as possible. You’ll have plenty of time to chill in your dorm once school starts, and your dorm meeting will give you a chance to meet the other girls. But for the first week, get out and meet people! Stay out on the commons till curfew, playing name games and tag. Get excited about your hub activities. Go to Wal-Mart and make your first “shopping trip” as a college student just because you can. Enjoy the fact that you don’t have homework and go lay in the grass, get sunburnt (and if you’re like me, acquire a nickname due to said weird sunburn), take pictures, be in pictures and go to all your hub meetings!

During EYW, make the most of it! Cheer loudly till you have no voice. Learn that cheesy hub chant, and don’t worry about looking stupid because nobody cares about that. Have fun with your little kid on Kite Day. Be nice to your hub leaders, they like you. Please, please ask a sophomore about the Amy Kelly chant. It will make us happy. Wear every OC t-shirt you have. (This school is the best about free t-shirts. And cute merchandise.) Be in the hub video. Wear comfy shoes. Join the dance parties at Dry Gulch. Learn the alma mater–WITHOUT the whoop. President O’Neal hates the whoop. Participate in the theme days like there’s no tomorrow. And enjoy it, because believe me, you’ll want to go back and do it all over again.

Once school starts: don’t stress. Go to class…I cannot even tell you how much it hurts you to skip class. (actually, I can. It makes all those aced tests kind of pointless if you skip a lot.) Ask for help. TAKE NOTES. Don’t stress. Get your homework done as soon as possible or it will come back to bite you in the butt the night before it’s due. Study with friends–much more fun and, as long as you actually work, it can be a lot more helpful. Have a planner. Use it. Use your awesome computer and your iTouch or iPhone to your advantage. STUDY. That paper that’s not due till the end of the semester is due sooner than you think. Learn to like coffee. It is your friend. And remember, when confronted with a gen-ed that you can’t stand, no matter how much you hate a class, it will be over in a couple months. You can do it.

Make time for your friends, too. Your college friends are a second family, no joke. They can make this one of the best school years of your life if you make time to develop close relationships. You CAN develop a close group of friends without being a “clique”. But do make an effort to get to know a lot of people. Sit with someone that you don’t know in chapel or the caf and introduce yourself.

Go to chapel. Seriously, it’s only 20 minutes. You can do it. Save your absences for when you need them–for when you don’t feel well, for when you forgot to print that Bible assignment, for when you forgot that room check is right after chapel and you haven’t washed your dishes. It really is worth it.

Beware the hot water in Gunn-Henderson dorm. It heats up FAST.

Make your grill points last as long as possible–the caf food isn’t bad, but it gets old after a while.

Don’t forget to leave a note on your door if you’re not in your room at curfew-check. Your RA doesn’t like searching for you. (it took me a long time to remember this--sorry, Shayna.)

Always, always sleep with shoes, a jacket if it’s cold, etc. close by. We have sensitive smoke detectors. And some girls don’t know how to work microwaves. Catch my drift?

And above all, enjoy being a freshman. Yes, I know you have curfew, and you want to rush a club, and you can’t wait to be done with your first year so you can move out of Gunn and Warlick/Fails, but believe me, you will miss it. Freshman year is wonderful, so make the very most of it. I can’t wait to help you all get started on this awesome journey called college.

Love,

Caroline