Five things I wish I knew before college...

My little brother is going to college. He moves in tomorrow. I can't believe it! I can still remember my fourth grade teacher pulling me aside to tell me that she got a note from the office that said my mom had a baby boy, my brother. Weird! I remember when he went to preschool, when he broke his leg jumping off my bed, when we used to sing the theme to the Loveboat because we heard it on Sister Act 2 a million times, when he started tee ball, and when he started high school. I can't imagine how my parents must be feeling because I'm only his sister and I feel like the time has flown.

I'm so proud of him. He's been such a great kid from day 1. He's stayed out of trouble, done an unbelievable job with his grades, and put so much time, effort, and heart into being the best he could be on and off the field. More than that, I know he's been a truly good friend to people and that really impresses me.

So with Kyler getting ready to move to Grandview tomorrow, I started thinking about what I wish I knew before I went to college. Here's what I came up with...

1) You should come home for dinner once in awhile. You won't miss anything at school. Your friends will still be there when you get back. (Or you can bring them with you.) It's just for a couple of hours and Mom and Dad will be really happy you made time to come home.

2) Just because you're on your own and you can do whatever you want, whenever you want... don't do whatever you want whenever you want. Maintain your discipline with school and work and sports. Just because you can stay out all night doesn't mean you should. It's true that not much good happens after midnight.

3) Don't let anyone talk you into doing something you don't feel 100% comfortable with especially if it can't be undone. Some things you only get one shot at getting right.

4) Enjoy everything and every minute of your time in college. And I mean EVERYTHING! Enjoy being broke. When else is it cool to scrounge and scrape to get by? Enjoy being able to wear sweats every day if you want to. Enjoy random times hanging out in your dorm with your friends doing nothing. Enjoy staying up late and studying. The "real world" isn't nearly as flexible as college life and some of the things that seem crappy like studying and having no money, seem like a great trade off when you have to start getting up for work every morning and you can't stay up too late or hang out all afternoon with your friends. So enjoy it... all of it. It goes way too fast.

5) Lastly, don't be afraid to meet people. Don't be shy. Be yourself. People like people who are authentically themselves. You don't have to be like everyone else for people to like you. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Most people are just as self conscious as you are and they'll be relieved that you were the one to approach them and say hi.

Those are my words of wisdom. Nothing really original in my words, but all things I wish I would have thought about before I started college. My brother's cool...he'll be just fine.

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