Angelina Wheeler
When you’re a senior, you will look back on your four years at Penn State wondering how you did it all.
I know that “freshman you” was timid, overwhelmed and terrified of what you got yourself into. Penn State is such a large school, and you were up against so much competition academically. You wanted to prove yourself and work hard toward getting your dream job. College was a mere hurdle you had to pass just to reach your goals. You did not want to get caught up in the “college experience” because you had too much to lose. It will be hard to remain yourself and not feel alone at times, but as time goes on you will find your people. You will also feel at home in the Bellisario College of Communications. You know yourself the best, and it was the right call to
join this college and work hard to get into your major.
You wanted to keep your head down and focus on that dream. What you didn’t know was that you would meet people just like you, who wanted to reach the same goals and had the same fears. You will find out that you’re not as alone as you think.
The people you will meet in school are more than just roommates, classmates or peers in your clubs. They are students, friends, superstars and sisters. The relationships you make will last a lifetime and you cannot be more grateful. In time, you will get over the overwhelming size of Penn State. You will put yourself out there by joining clubs. So swallow your fears, build some courage and force yourself out of your comfort zone within the next four years.
And then you’ll thank me.
You applied to Happy Valley Comm as a freshman. It taught you so much about the industry. You physically will not be able to shut up when telling others about HVC – sometimes when no one asked – because of how many opportunities for growth it gives its members. The executive board at the time immediately became your role models. What you’ll never forget is how larger than life they were, how smart (yet intimidating!) and how put together they were. They were the people who were going places. As a freshman, you’ll be terrified of them but just as much, you’ll want to be like them one day. As a senior, you’ll realize that you grew into that role and have the responsibility of carrying on the “legacy.”
Looking back, I can tell you that HVC was the best thing that ever happened to you at Penn State. Every semester, you’ll take on an internship, a part-time job, a heavy course load of credits and remain a member of HVC. You’ll stress yourself out and wonder if you can handle it all and still have enough time to sleep at night. And yet every semester, you’ll look back on your success and
wonder how you did it all.
You will cry a lot of tears and pull some all-nighters, wondering if you’re doing all this work for nothing. I can’t tell you how many obstacles you overcame, because frankly I lost count. Don’t freak out when you feel like a failure. You will teach yourself how to remain standing and work towards your goals. There will be many times you doubt yourself. You have to remind yourself at times to take a step back and breathe, remembering that everything will work out in time. You will learn how to balance school, work and life while keeping your mental health (somewhat) in check.
Your freshman self versus your senior self are two very different people. In a good way. I can’t tell you how proud I am. Together, we’ll graduate and hopefully get another letter like this in another four years to see how much we’ve grown.
This isn’t just a letter to my younger self. It’s also a piece of advice for those underclassmen who feel the same as I did. I can assure you it gets better for those doubting themselves throughout their college experiences.
Happy Valley Comm 