Dear young and naive Jessica (from 2003),

I know just how terrified you are right now, graduating from high school and moving 1,000 miles away to a university in Central Pennsylvania.

Don't be.

Right now, you're so concerned with the way other people see you that you can't see who you are. The experiences that await you here at Penn State will make you realize who that person truly is.

Initially, you will experience culture shock. The predominantly white campus will be quite a change from Memphis, Tenn., where you have lived for 18 years surrounded by diversity and culture. You will, however, gain a newfound appreciation for the 901, where you drive around the city, windows down and Three Six Mafia blaring from the speakers (back when they were still Sippin On Sum Syzzurp). But just like Triple Six, who sold out to Hollyhood and now rhyme about staying fly and popping collars, things change.

On your first day, you're going to scurry into your little cage in North Halls as the city mouse and meet your counterpart, the country mouse. You'll spend the next four years as roommates, realizing that you have far more similarities than differences.

You will also realize when you are put into groups in English class that some people just won't like you. In fact, there will be a certain someone who will stand up and announce to the class just how much she doesn't like you. Yet by some kind of twisted fate, she will become your best friend.

Surprise! You're going to actually enjoy some college classes. An environmental class will open your eyes to one of the biggest problems facing every person in the world: global warming and the impending consequences of years of irresponsible actions.

Because of your newly acquired passion for saving the world, one polar bear at a time, you will take a class where you travel to Peru, studying environmental issues across the Americas. This life-changing class will make you question everything you once thought was important, including your future in journalism.

No matter where your decisions take you, you will realize that your greatest support system is the family you fought with for 18 years. Your parents will actually become real people that you can confide in. And even more shocking, you will be able to talk to your sister without throwing your cell phone at her head and pulling her hair. (To be completely honest, that's not true. You will still do both of those things.)

I hate to say it, but you will graduate college just as confused as you are now. You will face the real world with trepidation just like when you step into that closet-sized dorm room for the first time. So don't be scared. Jump in head first. Have absolutely no regrets because, good or bad, everything happens for a reason. Good luck.

Sincerely,

The older and wiser Jessica (from 2007)