Alexa,

Holy $h!t.  I can’t believe that you start college today.  I know you must be so excited/scared out of your mind but hopefully as someone older and wiser, I can help you navigate through the next 4 years of your life.

I didn’t always make the best decisions in college and I can promise you that you won’t either.  However, hopefully you will make some bad decisions that will change you for the better and you will learn the right lessons.  I never expect you to be perfect, but I do expect you to make the most out of this time in your life.

With that said, let’s talk about the mistakes and lessons I learned:

1.  If you cannot understand your professor when he/she talks/writes (especially if it’s calculus) drop the class immediately or try to switch into another class.  Getting a D your first semester really blows.

2. AVOID 8am classes at all costs.

3. Just because the dining hall is a buffet, it does not have to be an All-You-Can-Eat.

4. Learn to like beer but don’t like it too much.

5. Workout as much as you can.  I’m not even saying this as a weight-loss initiative, even though the Freshman 15 and the Sophmore 10 are very real.  Workout because it will make you feel good about your body, force you to be healthy in an unhealthy environment, and it’s the best stress relief.

6. Always study in the library.

7. Make at least 5 friends that aren’t like your friends from High School.  Some of my best friends from college weren’t anything like my High School Mean Girl Friends and I’m a better person now because of them.

8. Read everything that is assigned and everything you can get your hands on. 

9. If you decide to Rush, definitely enjoy it but try not to take it too seriously.  People make friends without joining a sorority.   If you’re going to join a sorority, go Pi Phi. :)

10. Seriously watch out for roofies.  Never drink a drink that you didn’t pour yourself, watch the bartender pour, etc.  Roofies are real, they are mean, and bad things can happen. 

11. NEVER, EVER DRINK AND DRIVE.

12. NEVER, EVER DRINK AND TEXT.

13. Please limit the amount of drunken pictures that are taken of you or that you put on Facebook.  You really can’t ever erase those pictures.

14. Be kind to your roommate.  For all I know she could be the devil but life is so much easier if you can co-exist with your roommate in college.

15. Do not stress about college guys! Their brains are still forming and their maturity levels are still at least 5 years behind college girls.

16. You need a good guy friend in college.

17. Call your family at least once a week.  I wasted 2 years not talking to Dad in college, but over the next two years, I really got to know him as a person and not just a parent.  Try to call often and not just when you want something. :/

18. Just wash all your clothes in cold water, don’t even bother separating them.  However, do not dry the tumble low stuff!!!

19. Sign up for mint.com and start learning how to budget NOW!

20. I know everyone will seem smarter, prettier, richer, etc. but they aren’t.  You got into Chapel Hill, you’re gorgeous, and you will be a kicka$$ dermatologist one day.  

So party hard but study harder and report to me with your grades every week :)

Love,

Sissy