Dear Senior Ibrahim,
You are now entering the final year of your undergraduate career at Longwood University and I wanted to congratulate you, beforehand, on that achievement. You and I both know how complicated these past 3 years have been. I want you to understand before you start cringing, that I am a much worse writer than you are now. In fact, it is the theme of this letter: Improvement. I can’t wait to see how much you’ve improved in every single aspect of your life. I believe you wanted to graduate with a 4.0 GPA average and I am truly sorry I couldn’t fulfill my part of the deal. However, since this year will be the hardest, there are a couple of points I want you to take into consideration throughout the school year.
First, the fall semester will be the hardest in terms of your involvement in and out of the classrooms. I hope you continue extracurricular activities (especially Model U.N.), but I want you to always prioritize schoolwork. I say this because I know you consider resolutions, bylaws, and other responsibilities as “work” too. Don’t get it twisted, the expectations have been lowered but we still need to meet them. In any case, try new things and find hobbies adequate to boost your academic performance and most importantly your well-being. By now, internships and study abroad shouldn’t be a headache as I would have taken care of them already. So, instead, operation seducing grad schools enters its final stage
Another correction you will need to make concerns your inability to stay focused on a project for too long. Indeed, you may think reading an article on civil war while you are supposed to be analyzing federalist papers is still studying. It isn’t, because the result of this kind of attention deficit is just the acquisition of little particles of knowledge on various topics without really mastering the actual required content. I warn you already that it will hurt you if you don’t correctly balance your curiosity with the class material. Also, while multi-tasking seems to be time-saving, it isn’t a good remedy for this problem either. Instead, you can find inspiration in your previous assignments.
Academically, I think I can trust you to do a fine job of proving your value to those who have given you such an opportunity. It is incumbent, therefore, to be grateful for everyone’s involvement in your accomplishments at Longwood. On that note, there have been countless of upperclassmen who, not only have paved the way for you but also guided you throughout your journey. These people are real motivations and inspirational models. The only way to show your gratitude and continue their legacy is for you to be an inspiration for upcoming Longwood students through a model of hard work and dedication. The joy of participating in someone else’s success is equally as valuable as that of your own. This latter mention can also go both ways. As Pierre Corneille said it “In souls nobly born, the value does not depend upon age” which proves that there is no reason why their work ethic wouldn’t inspire you in return.
On a final note, I want you to remember your goals, aspirations, and determination as you are closing this important chapter of your life. The pathway through here has been long enough and there is still a long way to go. However, you and I will surely appreciate all the support we could get. I hope these pieces of advice will help ignite your motivation thus making you an improved person both ethically and intellectually.
I will continue to look up to you, dear senior me.
Wish you well,
I.K.
