My Valentine's Day Story of the Year

Dear Molly,

You are about to embark on one of the most important journeys you will ever embark on-your Freshman year of college! It will be fun. It will be hot. It will be cold. It will be funny. It will be a learning experience. It will be unforgettable. As a rising Sophomore, I have already experienced all of these feelings & as your good friend, I hope to help prepare you as well as I can for the odyssey ahead. In this letter, I have decided to write as many tips that I could come up with on how to college. Here it goes!

How to College

Do not bring too much stuff. Only take what you need-along with a few dorm room decorations. You are going to have twice as much stuff by the end of the year-no matter what. It happens to everyone. It’s a miracle that I could fit my entire dorm room into my mum’s volkswagen.

Bring an electric kettle. Tea makes for an excellent study mate.

Do not have too much food in your room. This is one way to prevent the Freshman 15 & not become a hermit! When you get bored, you get hungry & when you get hungry, you eat & when you have a cornucopia of food in your room, you eat it until you can’t move. At least, that’s what happened to me-eleven times.

Explore a new place at least once a month. You can never know what hidden treasures your college town is hiding.

Spend as little time in your dorm as possible. Kind of like tip #3, instead of eating alone in your dorm (or alone in general), plan ahead to eat lunch or dinner with some friends. As cheesy as this sounds, get involved with clubs & organisations. Instead of studying in your dorm room, study in the library because who knows you might meet a new friend or even your soulmate. Of course, go back to your dorm to get some shut eye.

Always be equipped with some pencils, chapstick, a water bottle, & some hand lotion. Especially during the colder months.

Take a few Friday nights off to give yourself some TLC. You don’t have to spend every Friday night hanging out with your future college squad. Some weeks will be challenging & by the time you’re done with your classes on Friday, you’ll probably want to stay in & that’s okay! What I usually do when I want to be alone on Fridays is I paint my nails, eat ice cream, repin 100 pins (no shame), & watch Netflix. I also sometimes invite a friend over to join my knock off spa session. Until college, I never knew that you can have the most interesting conversations while painting your nails.

If you're lucky enough to meet someone special, become friends with them first.

Compliment someone random on your way to class at least once a week. Compliment their jacket, their hair, or their shoes. This is also a great way to lift someone’s spirits; sometimes it’s hard to tell if someone is in dire need of a compliment. I mean, what’s the worst thing they could do, say “um thanks?”

Wake up at least two hours before your first class. I know it sounds crazy, but I did this & I don’t regret it. For example, if your first class is at 9 am, wake up at 7 am. It takes the average person thirty minutes to be fully awake & aware of their surroundings. One of the biggest mistakes Freshman make is they wake up thirty minutes before their first class. But if your first class is at 11 am & you wake up at 10:30, you’re actually doing yourself a disservice. By waking up two hours before your first class, not only are you not allowing yourself to fully wake up, you also get to fit in a little me time or study time if you need it. Until I tried it, I had no idea how rejuvenating it felt to watch the sun rise while drinking a cup of tea. You’ll also get to get ready & eat a good breakfast without having to worry about rushing out the door.

Speaking of sleep, get as much sleep as you can. Because there will be nights where you won’t get any sleep at all.

Dress in layers. During the harsh winter months in Boone, I made the mistake of sometimes wearing a parka & a chunky sweater. Sure, I was making it through the Breesy blizzard outside, but when I came inside for a class, I was sweating because the professor cranked up the heater. I’m guessing Massachusetts is a lot colder than Boone, so maybe wear at least three layers.

Buy a super cute agenda. You’ll be more motivated to cross every completed assignment off! I don’t know about you, but I felt so satisfied getting to write down an assignment in metallic blue & getting to cross it off in neon purple! I recommend the agendas by Lilly Pulitzer, Kate Spade, & Harrods.

Take as many pictures as you can, but not too many. For example, if you’re going hiking, take a few photos with your friends & after that, put your phone away & enjoy the view. Bonus if they’re polaroids.

And speaking of phones, do not let your phone control your life. Put your phone on airplane mode when you’re doing homework or even when you’re in class (your professor will like you better). Do not worry about recording that dancer or that fight, just worry about being in the moment, because that’s more rewarding than being known as the person who uploaded that video. Instead of staring at your phone when you’re at a club meeting, take the chance to start a conversation with someone new. Spend more time reading actual books than staring at your phone-that’s what I did & by the end of my Freshman year, I had finished five novels!

Do not buy a puppy (sorry). Or a cat. (Fishes are okay). College is all about making you into the person you were meant to be. Unfortunately, having a furry friend running around your apartment sending you mad vibes that scream "FEEDMEFEEDME!" will only hold you back.

Exercise. I can’t stress this enough! The minimum I did was three times a week for thirty minutes & I lost ten pounds, which was not one of my workout goals.

Live in the moment. Do not be so focused on what’s going to happen next. Not only will that cause you to become more anxious, you will be missing out on a moment that will probably never happen again. College (specifically, your Freshman year) only happens once. Make the most of it.

Wow, I had more to say than I thought!

Anyway, I know you instinctively know some of these rules, but a friendly reminder never hurts. You’re going to kill it at Wellesley & hopefully become the next Lee Kiefer! Don’t forget to write me a few letters on how everything is going. I hope you have a great birthday tonight & I can’t wait to join you for some chicken n’ waffles!

Tu amiga,

Kathryn Brees