Letter to my First-Year Self —Mikayla Gorelin
Hey Mikayla,
You did it! You’re graduating from NYU! I know this has been the dream since like 6th grade and I know how much work you put into this your whole life and how hard it was to get to this
point and I know how much it sucks that you’re doing your first year from the living room table (but at least your roommate is a cute dog and not a crazy stranger). But, take a breath. You did it.
That’s not to say it’s going to be easy. The next year and a half will sorta suck, I won’t sugar coat it. You’re going to get to campus next year and have to go through all the things a freshman has to do but you’re going to have to do it as a sophomore. You’re going to have this weird imposter syndrome that sort of never goes away, and yeah, you’re going to be surrounded by people that know more than you, but that’s fine. Everyone feels like that (or, at least that’s what people tell me). You’re going to go home most weekends to hang out with your dog, and that’s okay.
But you’re going to stick it through, and you will be so glad you did. You’re going to meet all these people that lift you up and make you think “oh yeah, this is what college is supposed to feel like.” You were dealt a shitty hand. That’s not your fault. You’re going to live in a different country for a few months. Right now you can’t even spend a night away from home without
feeling weird but you’re going to be across the world and guess what? You’re going to love it. You’re going to live your Pitch Perfect dream and host your own radio show for three years. You’re going to fall in love with Britpop, hate Britpop, and then fall in love with it again.
You’re still going to have no idea what you want to do with your life! But no one really does!
You are going to get to have a real college experience. Will it be normal? Of course not. But, that makes it so much better.
Breathe. See you soon,
Mik
