Journal seniors reflect on lessons they’ve learned over the past three years.

Dear Jenny,

You’ll think you can do it all. You’ll assume accumulating several high-profile obligations and juggling three jobs while competing for the track team is feasible. Beware: your tenacity is a double-edged sword. It can be your key to success or the catalyst for your mistakes. Remember, balance is crucial. Instead of spreading yourself too thin, dedicate yourself fully to the few things you’re really passionate about, and excise the excess. Sleep, but don’t oversleep. Have fun, but try not to end up with a lampshade on your head more than a few times. Lastly, college is when you really find out who in your life is most important to you. Make time for the people who make time for you.

 Jenny Zahn

Dear Jen,

Three years from now as you begin your senior year, you’ll wonder where the time went. You won’t remember the countless nights of studying, and the numerous hours spent slaving away in the student media offices, but you will always remember the small things — the first time you met your roommates, weekend Cobeen brunches, waiting outside the Bradley Center in a blizzard, the late night chats with good friends in dorm lounges. Enjoy the little things, because in the end, they are actually the big things. Realize there is more to the world than what you see on a daily basis. Volunteer. Travel. Explore. Be independent. In three years your eyes will have opened to a world of exciting possibilities. And don’t forget to call home every now and then.

Jen Michalski

Dear Kendra,

You’re not naïve—you’re simply 18 and ready to see what college has to offer. You’ll soon learn going out multiple times a week and achieving the 4.0 grade-point average you had in high school won’t happen unless you complete all your assignments by Wednesday at, say, 3 p.m. The friends you had in high school probably won’t share the same mentality as your new classmates, and your “friends for life” list may end up being slightly shorter than you imagined. Nonetheless, you will see all of this in perspective four years from now.

Kendra Carruthers

Dear Allie,

You should know you’re going to make mistakes, but they won’t always be bad ones. So don’t be afraid to take risks and try new things. Making mistakes in college help us become who we are. Don’t regret your mistakes — learn from them. Also, remember that your college experience only happens once. Take advantage of the opportunities the university offers you. Get involved with things that interest you, even if they’re totally outside of your comfort zone. College is your time to shine — make the most of it. Oh, and beware the freshman 15.

Allie Zahn

Dear Joe,

Newsflash: you do not attend an all-male high school anymore. There are members of the opposite sex in class, and, they are shockingly, in earshot of you. Let’s you and me work on not dropping f-bombs to your fellow all-male expatriates in public.

While I have you, Joe, Kilbourn is North and Clybourn is South. Or is it Kilbourn is South and Clybourn is North? Well, you figure it out; you have the time. It’s not like you’re going to get a job until the second semester anyway.

And Joe, for God’s sake, drop Spanish class already. You’re going to give up on a high-paying future and join the Comm school soon anyway.

Joe Carey