Advice from Senior Kelsey

I jotted down this list yesterday after taking my (gulp) final final. I can't believe it's over.

If I could sit and talk to Freshman Kelsey, I would tell her a few things.

-I would tell her to never sleep in and skip a class. There will be plenty of time to sleep, and never enough time to learn.

-I would tell her to go to bed at a decent hour. Staying up all night every night isn't cool and it won't help your GPA much either.

-I would tell her to worry less about dating and boys and to focus more on herself. That whole boy thing will work out on its own.

-I would tell her to take full advantage of all the benefits offered to USU students.

-I would tell her to make an effort to connect with professors. Some of them sincerely care about you and want to help you succeed at what you are good at.

-I would tell her to always carry that dang student ID card with her. You never know when or where you'll be able to use it to get a deal.

-I would tell her not to stress out about her future. Things will work out. They always do. As long as you're doing what's right and working hard, an opportunity will appear when you least expect it.

-I would tell her to get dressed for class in the mornings. Yeah, I get it. You have track practice in the afternoon. But that's still no excuse for not caring. Save the sweatpants for Saturday mornings.

-I would tell her to never worry about what other people think of her. There are lots of weird people at college. You can act as weird as you want and someone might think you are actually refined. So just be yourself. There's no better place to do that than at college.

-I would tell her to not be afraid of trying new things. They just might become your favorite things. And this is not implying to drugs or other illegal happenings. I am talking about stuff like taking an African Dance class.

-I would tell her to take every chance she could to lay on the quad or the grass on Old Main Hill and just soak in the beauty of the most magical campus around.

-I would tell her to believe in that football team, even though they can barely beat SUU at the moment. Just you wait. It gets better. I promise. Chuckie Keaton. Ever heard of him?

-I would tell her to stop complaining about the cold while walking around to classes during the winter months. Just embrace it. Sure, you can't feel your nose. So what, you might slip to your death on the icy sidewalk. But remember how lucky you are to be getting a good education.

-I would tell her to go out of her way to stop the person she knows on campus who pulls out their phone to do the "fake text message" in order to avoid conversation. Don't let them get away with that nonsense. You stop them and give them the biggest, friendliest hello and make sure they feel totally awkward in the process.

-I would tell her to always remember to call her mom. And her dad too.

-I would tell her to never eat the food at The Hub. Bad news bears.

-I would tell her to keep a better journal.

-I would tell her to always stick up for herself.

-I would tell her to soak up every second. You thought those four years of high school went by fast? Just wait for the four years of college to whiz by.

-And I would tell her to constantly be proud of being an Aggie. But she probably already knew that.