Realizing New

As I sit here at Starbucks, drinking my tall, white chocolate mocha with no whipped cream, I'm beginning to wonder what my upcoming college experience will be like. Will it be unforgettable; the type of experience that causes nostalgia in the future? Or will it be an average experience, one which I will only remember vaguely in twenty years? I can't help but wonder how many other soon-to-be college girls are contemplating that same thought. College calls for many things: new types of parties, new friends, new forms of learning, and many more new things. New. All new. I think that's the scary part. All our lives, most of us haven't been used to much "new". High school had it's splashes of new here and there, but nothing like what's in store when we start college. I can't help but to take all of the awaiting "new" as something to be excited about.

I've figured out that finding the "old" in everything new will help us get accustomed. Finding that one girl who reminds you of your hometown best friend, the familiar smell of Starbucks on each campus, and that one professor who teaches just like your favorite high school teacher. Those are the things we have to look for. Those are the things that will slowly help us get through each day. Soon enough, all the "new" will become "normal", and when we go back home to visit, we'll crave our new normal.

In the couple weeks left before the Fall Semester, all we can do is hope for an easy transition into the next chapter of our lives. For many of us, this may be the best chapter of our book. We have to enjoy our time left here in the "old", and aspire to make the awaiting "new" our new normal. My advice for anyone reading this is to be completely open to the arriving change. Whether you're going to a school alone, far away, or across the street from home, always remember that there are hundreds of other girls having the same feelings as you. College has been described as the time to find who you truly are, so don't be afraid to do so.

So what are you waiting for? Buy yourself a cute bag for class, grab your coffee, and start planning for the experience YOU want to have! Get excited; you're going to college!

NG