Dear 17 year old Chels

Dear 17 year old Chelsea, 

You're about to start college. That's a little weird, eh? You were a little nervous to venture too far from the nest, and opposed to becoming a Cardinal, so you tossed aside that Ball State acceptance letter and settled on Herron School of Art + Design here in Indy. 

Nervous doesn't even begin to cut it. Things will get easier. You're going to love going to art school. It's going to open your eyes to so many new opportunities and people you never got to experience in suburbia high school.

That guy you're crushing on... hate to break it to you, but it doesn't end up well. He'll make you a lot of promises but ultimately decide that fidelity isn't his style. It's ok. He's not that cool after all, I promise. And when you fast forward 6 or 7 years he gets a little chubby and a lot less cute. So maybe it does end up well. You realize dating the party boy isn't exactly the path to a lifetime of wedded bliss. 

Your closest girlfriends, most of them went away to school. They're making new friends just like you are. Instead of seeing them 4 nights a week and having sleepovers every weekend you're going to start seeing them less and less. They won't come home every weekend. And you won't go visit them as often. It sucks, and your feelings will get a little hurt that they have these new lives. Don't let it get to you too much.. spoiler alert: you guys will rekindle in a few years, and have even more fun. 

Since your best friends are all spread out, you'll start spending more time with your family. Embrace it. This becomes a beautiful thing, and a lot of people aren't that lucky. I know, I know... going to dinner with your parents on a Friday night isn't THAT cool. On the plus side, you're going to save a LOT of money while they still buy your food. That padded bank account will come in handy later, promise. 

Oh, and Chels... stop Facebook stalking that ex from senior year. Those girls he parties with, also end up fat and don't get too far in life. I'll send you another spoiler alert, he ends up in rehab (girl, you really need to rethink these guys you choose to date). On the plus side, you guys become pretty good friends when he needs someone to lean on. He teaches you how to distinguish between love-love and friend-love. Thanks to him, you learn to not hold grudges, you learn that not everyone is meant to stay in your life, and that that is perfectly fine. 

All those hobbies that weren't cool to have in high school... embrace them now. Sewing and making scrapbooks may seem lame, but I promise in a few years when all your friends are hanging out on your couch you guys are going to laugh it up while flipping through the pages of your Spring Break albums, curled up under the quilts you made. People are going to start paying you to make them things too... again, with the padded bank account. Embrace it sista, you've got talent!

That bank account is about to come in handy... you're realizing how much you love to travel, and now without such a strict high school schedule you've got more free time to do it. Embrace that you've got friends living out west, go visit. A lot. Hit up as many beaches as you can in Mexico and the Caribbean. They're cheap to fly there now, they're going to get a lot more expensive the older you get, ugh.  Travel every chance you get! You're going to love it!

Oh, and for the love of god.... put the macbook down for a bit. I get that you have a lot of design work to do for your classes, but ease up a bit. I promise you'll be ok. You figure it out later in college that you don't NEED to get A's & B's, you're going to land an internship thanks to who you know, not what you know. Silly as it sounds, life is a little backwards sometimes.

Have some fun, little Chels, I'm not going to tell you these are the best years of your life, because you seem to do a lot better once your twenties roll around, but you do have a pretty great college'hood. Cheers little lady, and hold on.... you're in for a wild ride!