To our freshman selves, here’s what we have to say
It’s crazy, isn’t it? One day you’re walking up the steps of your university on your first day of school. The next thing you know, you’re cycling through your lasts: last school year, last semester, last first day of class, last reporting, last submission… you get it. There’s something about senior year that feels so bittersweet.
We ask ourselves: how did we get here?
Time has its way of fooling us. Though it feels like our college years have gone by in a blink, a lot has happened between the past four (more or less) years. Granted, our experience in university isn’t exactly typical, with roughly half of our college years pushed online due to the pandemic. We aren’t the same bright-eyed and eager freshmen excited for the years ahead of them — are we better off or worse? That is up to each of us to answer.
Now that we’re at the end of this chapter, we wanted to look back. We asked our fellow graduates and soon-to-be-graduates what they wanted to tell their freshman selves, and here’s what they had to say:
On Memories
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- Take a LOT of photos!!!! I regret not taking as much photos as I did since the pandemic came around – Jeanne, 22, she/her
- Make every moment worth looking back at. – Ice, 22, he/him
- Don’t be afraid to make memories, memories make this chapter in your life more meaningful. – RJ, 22, he/him
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On Being Yourself
- You didn’t have to be so mindful of the way others see you, especially the higher batch! – Alex, he/him
- No one will judge you for being you. Go all out, explore, & make memories!! – Raya, 22, she/her
- Just be yourself and make the most out of it! Don’t be anxious and try to set goals – Sab, 20, she/her
- Life starts once you stop caring about what other people have to say to you. – Ali, 22, she/her
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On Relationships
- You have not met all of the people who you will love and who will love you. Let go when needed. – Kate, 21, she/her
- You’ll get over him soon iyakan mo lang yan (just cry it out) HAHHAHAHAHHAHA – Eraica, 20, she/her
- GHORL, college boys are not worth it – Ali, 22, she/her
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On Change
- It’s okay if you become a different person and want different things. You are supposed to change. Whatever you thought you were gonna be isn’t set in stone. Open yourself to possibilities. – Kate, 21, she/her
- Don’t be afraid of change – Bianca, 21, she/her
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On Facing Fears
- The best things in life are on the opposite side of fear – Joey Bada$$ – Chrystan, 22, he/him
- Don’t be afraid to explore and meet new people – Patricia, 22, she/her
- Fuck it. Just go for it! – Ali, 22, she/her
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If our freshman selves saw us today, we hope they would be proud of us. We’ve come so far since we’ve started, and there’s still so much that lies ahead. To think that our lives are going to look different even a year from now.
To our past: thank you. To the future: what’s next?
Words Gwyneth King
Art Pis Trinidad
