Dear Freshman Year Self

 

Dear Freshman Year Self,

Your first year at Gonzaga will last a total of three minutes. You will form hundreds of memories, make lifelong friendships, and grow in numerous ways. You and your roommate will not become best friends, but you’ll realize that it’s okay to just be roommates. You will spend the first few weeks checking your schedule every few minutes to make sure you’re in the right class, sitting with different Zags for every meal, and hoping that you find that group of friends like you had in high school. The first care package you receive will be filled with treats from your mom and a pair of pajama pants with your faces plastered all over them. You will wear these pants out in the common room and, similar to how puppies help people make friends, these pants will become a conversation starter and lead you to meet your best friend. Through her, and the many hours spent in the Coughlin common room, you will form an amazing group of friends. You will continue to grow in your friendships when you attend New Student Retreat, and find comfort and support in this amazing community. As you deepen friendships with your Gonzaga friends, it will become harder and harder to stay close with people back home. Those weekly Skype sessions you promised would happen, start to become less and less frequent.

You’ll invest so much into your group of friends, many of you becoming inseparable, and you’ll soon realize you should have branched out more. Your best friend will finish her freshman year at Gonzaga and then end up transferring for reasons out of her control. It will take a long time for you to come to terms with it but, eventually, you will find your place at Gonzaga once again.

Some of your best memories will be spent dressed head to toe in Zag spirit. Whether in the Kennel, or watching the game in the student center, you’ll be in your happy place. You will discover that it isn’t so much about the basketball, but rather being surrounded by people who love Gonzaga as much as you do.

You will hate every assignment and paper of your Service Learning English class, but you will learn more from your professor than any other teacher you’ve had. For the first time, you will feel like your writing and work is serving a greater purpose than just a letter grade. You’ll apply to study abroad and have an experience unlike anything you’ve had before. You will be challenged to look at race and privilege differently, and start to recognize your own privileges.

You will think you have your life after college figured out, but you will soon realize that your dream of becoming a nurse doesn’t align with what is in your heart. Transferring out of nursing will be one of the hardest decisions you will make at Gonzaga, but it will also be the most rewarding. You will start to explore a future career in Student Affairs… something you currently don’t even know exists.

You’ll meet a lot of people throughout your first few years, and you will continue meeting new Zags during your entire four years. The friends, professors, and mentors you make during your time at GU will become the glue to your college experience. Tell them how much they mean to you and how thankful you are for them, often. You would not be the person you are today without their love and support.

Even though you are going to be having the time of your life and may not miss your parents, they will miss you a lot. They spent the last 18 years loving you and watching you grow into the person you are today. Answer your mom’s calls, and don’t forget to call your dad back; they will want to know every detail for the first few weeks, but after that you will be able to manage with a quick summary of key events.

You will laugh a lot, cry occasionally, and be thankful daily for this wonderful place you will soon begin to call home.

You have the opportunity to write your own story and freshman year is just the beginning. Don’t go through freshman year looking down; keep your head up and say hello to strangers– they may soon become your closest friends. Don’t be afraid to take risks; apply for Ambassadors, go on that retreat, get outside your comfort zone and explore everything Gonzaga has to offer.

Go Zags,

Shelby Wells

Class of 2017

Parent & Family Orientation Coordinator