Dear Freshman Emily,

I know you have always striven to live your life with no regrets, but what the heck were you thinking?

The next four years are going to be rough, but you will get through it and in the end it will all be worth it.

Going into freshman year you have high hopes for making new friends at a new school and that you sure will, just don’t forget to worry about your grades.

You’re going to have low points and they’re going to be hard. But you’re going to be OK, so you just need to push through.

Instead of letting the drama consume your attention, make learning a priority. I promise that your high school relationship isn’t worth the stress of letting your grades fail.

Freshman year will most likely be an easy year, but you need to prepare yourself for the upcoming years.

Everything you’re learning now is going to tie into stuff farther down the road, so if you don’t actually learn what you’re supposed to, you’re going to regret it.

Participate in things that you feel like you might want to, get out of your comfort zone, and just don’t be afraid to try new things. But, above everything, school comes first.

One of the worst things you can get involved with in high school is procrastination. You thought I was going to say alcohol or drugs, but no, procrastination is actually the worst thing you can do.

Once you realize how easy it is to get away with procrastinating, you’re in for a lot of stress.

High school isn’t hard, but keeping your focus on high school can be challenging sometimes.

Again, keep your head in the game and push through all the nonsense of drama and what other people think.

All of this might sound really scary at first, but all you really need to remember is that by the time you’re a senior you will sort of have your life together and all of this figured out.

Love, your future self.