By Jazmyn Matthews

 

Dear Class of 2020,

It’s officially time. There are officially less than 50 days until graduation.

Less than 50 days until real life sets in and we have to do things other than get up and go to class every day. It’s time for the new class to settle in.

I swear, every time a new freshmen class is announced, it’s like “Congrats to the new Bulldawgs!! They’re bringing in a new average GPA of 6.8!” It’s actually a 4.03 average, but you get my point. I’m amazed at how high it’s going to get by the time I’ve been out of this school for a couple of years.

With your new class comes a new beginning. You’ve just gotten the best news of your life, the news that you get to attend the finest school in the land. Now you have that pre-orientation checklist to worry about after you make the wise decision to actually say yes to your acceptance.

It’s the best time of your life, but you still have to get through the rest of your senior year of high school.

My advice? Don’t rush it.

Enjoy the last six, seven weeks. I know it seems borderline impossible because you’re in such a rush to get to this school, but trust me. I graduate in May, and I would love nothing more to flashback to when I got accepted and relive this past four years again.

Don’t get me wrong; I am so very thankful to be graduating. If this was November of 2012, I would’ve told you that college clearly isn’t for me and that I was dropping out to become famous (I wonder how that would’ve worked out).

But, the time is finally here and I actually get sad when I tell people that I am a graduating senior. I knew it had to happen eventually, but it’s actually time for me to leave this place.

So, don’t rush it. Enjoy that last year of high school. I promise you’re going to miss how easy things are. The fact that “I’ll just study for it in the morning” will never be true again. The fact that power naps will become your lifeline for the next four years. Even the fact that you are definitely not the only person who didn’t study for the test and there’s a certain good feeling that comes with knowing that you are not alone.

I understand your excitement; I understand the desire of starting that new chapter of your life. Wholeheartedly.

But, I promise that when your relatives say “It’ll be the fastest four years of your life,” they aren’t lying. I can tell you every little detail of what my freshman dorm looked like because I swear it was yesterday.

Have fun. Enjoy the small moments because they’ll be the biggest memories. I would never encourage someone to not study for a test, but sometimes going out with friends is the study break that you need to get those creative juices flowing.

Get prepared because before you know it, it’s going to be you in four years writing this same thing.

Sincerely,

a Bulldawg reminiscing on good times.