The Top 8 Things I Learned (And Re-Learned) The Summer Before My Freshman Year of College

Number 1:
It's okay to let your mind play tug-of-war between feeling overly ecstatic about college and nostalgic about leaving family and friends behind. It doesn't make you an emotional wreck for having mixed feelings about going to college. It just means you're human.

Number 2:
Everyone else is feeling the exact same way.

Number 3:
There is a significant difference between the people who are "fun to hang out with" and friends who truly matter to you. The latter half are the people you will want stay close with because they stand out from other friends for a reason.

Number 4:
On the contrary, it's okay to grow apart from people, too.

Number 5:
Some people need to grow up...

Number 6:
It is impossible to say "I love you" to your parents too much.

Number 7:
There will come a point in the summer when everything --leaving home, living on your own, etc.-- really hits you. And it will hit you pretty hard.

Number 8:
College is the time to do everything big. Just because you're a freshman again doesn't mean that you should aim to get by by playing small. (See quote below).

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Lizzie