Dear freshmen,

I hope this letter finds you all well and that you’re enjoying college life despite any difficult classes. Just as your name indicates, you all are still fresh to this life, or should I call it world? Therefore, never think there is something wrong with you if you just can’t handle it.

Remember why you are here and how hard you worked to be at the University of Minnesota. When you were admitted to the University, the admissions knew you were competent to attend it and graduate from it. Therefore, remember although you might think you’re not smart enough (due to struggling in some classes), you can surely thrive despite everything; you’re intelligent and able to pass your classes.

We all are worried about finals week since, for some of us, it will be our first time experiencing this anxiety, but we shouldn’t forget that we can do it. We’ll survive because we’ve already survived studying and graduating from high school during the pandemic.

Here’s a couplet I wrote several months ago, which I think applies to what we’re experiencing now:

“Remember that you are so dynamic

You strived to graduate during a pandemic.”

Sincerely,

A fellow freshman

Amina Hasan is a freshman at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.