OFF TO COLLEGE...
You know, college can be a really scary thing.
It seems like no matter how much you prepare yourself
to leave all of the people you love,
it always comes back and slaps you in the face later. It's really scary when you're
sitting in your dorm room one night,
listening to The Eagles, "Sad Cafe,"
and thinking, wow, these lyrics really are powerful: "Maybe the time has gone,
the faces, I recall.
But things in this life change very slowly,
if they ever change at all. . ."
The scary part being that we've all been
hit with change lately,
and it doesn't seem to have come slowly at all.
Do you remember the day you left home?
I'm sure that you do.
But I'll bet that what you remember even more clearly, were the days in the week before you left,
you know,
the days you spent getting addresses
and phone numbers and trying to
figure out how to say goodbye
to everyone you'd loved for as long
as you could remember.
Do you remember standing by
your best friend's car one night,
after midnight,
trying to sum up the meaning of a friendship
you'd managed to maintain through thick
and thin for four years?
Do you remember how hard that was,
to think of how to say goodbye to that person?
It was nearly impossible, wasn't it,
to give them one last hug and turn
around and walk inside.
I'll bet part of what you remember was the night
before you left, kissing your boyfriend
or girlfriend goodbye one last time,
just knowing that you'd have to turn around
and walk back inside was almost
motivation enough not to leave.
Stepping back to take one last look at that
person you love-it's really scary.
And you go, and you promise yourself
that you won't find anyone new.
You won't ever replace your old friends.
You'll never fall in love again.
It's really crazy, what kinds of things
can happen when you don't mean for them to.
You get to a new place full of strangers.
You meet people who forget you.
You forget people you meet.
But sometimes, you come across some
extraordinarily special people.
They have tears to shed, too.
They left people behind.
They're in love with that girl or that guy
back where they used to live,
and they all want someone to talk to.
So you talk. Talk is good.
You form bonds you never thought you'd form.
You call your old friends and
tell them about the new ones.
Sometimes, they don't understand.
Sometimes, you hurt their feelings.
Sometimes everyone is just a little bit jealous.
You miss your boyfriend. Or your girlfriend.
One day you're sitting in a park,
thinking about all that stuff
you really didn't want to leave,
and a stranger sits down near you.
Sometimes that person stays a stranger.
Other times, you talk to him. Or you talk to her.
Sometimes you experience things you
didn't want to ever happen.
Sometimes you're interested in that person
who isn't your boyfriend back home. Or your girlfriend. Sometimes college is really complicated.
Sometimes you stay together.
Other times, you break up.
Sometimes you think you've done the wrong thing,
by coming so far away from home.
And sometimes, when you start thinking like this,
it's time to make a change.
So when this happens, you sit down,
put The Eagles in the stereo, turn on "Sad Cafe,"
and wonder if you still
recall all the faces from your past.
If you do, you're doing well.
So you pick up the phone, and you call them all,
just to say "Hi, I love you,
I'm thinking about you."
And then as an afterthought,
you say "You know, I'm really
learning a lot from college.
I wish you'd come here to visit all of my friends. They're very important,
and I think they'd love you.
You'd love them."
Because after all, this is college.
College is a growing experience.
Growing experiences cause change.
Change is hard. But it makes you stronger.
Call your Mom. Call your best friend.
Call your boyfriend. Or your girlfriend.
Or your ex, if that's how it worked out.
Tell them hello. Tell them you miss them,
that you love them.
And then, turn off the stereo.
Leave your dorm room.
Go to a friend's room,
give them a big hug,
and say "Thank you so much for being here.
I love you."
I promise, you'll feel better.