<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dear Class of 2022,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It seems like just yesterday we were scrolling through Instagram commenting &#8220;Next Four!&#8221; on strangers&#8217; photos of their Tulane acceptance. After lots of anticipation and excitement, we finally arrived at Tulane and were met with the infamous freshman year experience (and a year we couldn&#8217;t have known would be our only normal one). We ate our way through the Bruff omelets and questionable meats, navigated the confusion of A-quad as a lost freshman, and struggled to do laundry in the dorms without having our clothes removed from the dryer before we could make it downstairs. Some dreaded the week of orientation but will never forget their first tailgate season, while others flew across the world to spend their semester abroad with a group of strangers. There was the day many of us got our bids to our sororities, the week we experienced our first Mardi Gras, and my personal favorite, the day I had my very first Jazmine spring roll. Everyone had their unique freshman year, but one thing was universal– we all experienced a handful of firsts.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then we blinked and became second-semester seniors. After a global pandemic sending us home for half a semester and natural disasters sending us home for another month, it feels like our college experience has been on high speed. Somehow, we&#8217;ve reached the beginning of the end. As we finish this chapter of life, it is important not to let these ‘lasts’ pass us by. While my college years have seemed to fly by, I am determined to savor every moment of this final semester. Everyone has their own ways of doing so, but I&#8217;ve put together some tips to make this last semester count….</span></p>
<p><b>Make a bucket list!</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I made it a point to try new places and see new things throughout my years here. Yet somehow, there is still so much left that I haven&#8217;t done. With the end in near sight, there&#8217;s pressure to mark off everything I want to do in a short amount of time. If you&#8217;re feeling the same, make a bucket list! Writing down a list of the things left to do makes it concise and easier to make a plan. My list includes trying new restaurants, including Miss River, Lilette, Jack Rose, and Maypop. Whatever yours is, get it done before it&#8217;s too late! New experiences make for the best memories. </span></p>
<p><b>Take a trip down memory lane</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before we know it, we&#8217;ll be packing our bags and leaving New Orleans. Take a moment to reflect on your time here by revisiting some favorite old spots or nostalgic activities. Visit your freshman dorm hall, dine at The Commons one last time, or even just do your homework in the B school reliving your favorite freshman year study spot. It can be fun to allow yourself to feel nostalgic! Also, take pictures, they last longer ;)</span></p>
<p><b>Connect with old friends</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When many of us came to college, we knew nobody. Four years later, we have all met so many people from all over the world through classes, clubs, sports, and social activities. Some we consider &#8220;class friends,&#8221; others &#8220;freshman year friends,&#8221; and a few &#8220;we met in line for Boot Pizza one night friends.&#8221; While we will probably stay in touch with our closest friends, we may lose touch with these less tight-knit friends once we leave Tulane. Before this time comes, make it a point to reconnect and make plans with them. If you&#8217;re as bad with staying in touch as I am, it&#8217;s important to make these plans and see these people while you&#8217;re nearby rather than relying on a FaceTime call amidst busy opposing schedules.</span></p>
<p><b>Live in the moment</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I say this one last because it is without a doubt the most important in my mind. It feels like so much of this year has been dodging the inevitable million-dollar question … &#8220;</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">so what&#8217;s your plan after graduation?&#8221; </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">We all get it, we all hate it, but yet for some reason, we all still ask each other about it. While it&#8217;s important to plan our next steps, if we spend every moment talking about the future, we will miss out on so many present opportunities. Rather than spending every afternoon after class applying to jobs or doing networking calls, go out and enjoy your final semester in this city. Of course, reality hits, and we remember we&#8217;re about to be cut off and are in dire need of a job, but it is okay to find a balance. If you&#8217;re going to spend the afternoon job-hunting, make sure to close your laptop at night, turn off the LinkedIn notifications, and enjoy time with your friends. I&#8217;m a firm believer in living in the present; we only have so much time left here, so let&#8217;s not all spend it wishing it away and worrying about what comes next. Enjoy the present.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before we know it, we&#8217;re going to be experiencing our last Friday Flyday and Boot Happy and turning our tassels from right to left. Even the things we once dreaded – walking to A-quad in the pouring rain, the potholes that gave you a flat tire, and the never-ending line to get into The Palms – we&#8217;re going to miss. The past four years have been a whirlwind, but I wouldn&#8217;t have traded it for the world. I know that come May, my parents will have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming. We go to one of the best universities in the country and live in one of the best cities in the world. During this last semester, I urge everyone to cherish, appreciate, and make the most of that. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sincerely,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A fellow senior who cries thinking about her last “windows down, music blasting” drive down Broadway Street</span></p>
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<div class="wp-biographia-container-top" style="background-color: #FFEAA8; border-top: 4px solid #000000;"><div class="wp-biographia-pic" style="height:100px; width:100px;"><img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1177745b1f00793f152ad272d1ef1d9fc8503578e6f43487d9f7e2b5d5f1a6b9?s=100&#038;d=wp_user_avatar&#038;r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1177745b1f00793f152ad272d1ef1d9fc8503578e6f43487d9f7e2b5d5f1a6b9?s=200&#038;d=wp_user_avatar&#038;r=g 2x' class='wp-biographia-avatar avatar-100 photo' height='100' width='100' /></div><div class="wp-biographia-text"><h3>About <a href="https://tulanemagazine.com/author/jordanacomiter/" title="Jordana Comiter">Jordana Comiter</a></h3><p>Jordana was The Crescent's Editor-in-Chief during the 2021-2022 school year! She majored in communications and minored in political science. Her guilty pleasure is celebrity vlogs and she's a sucker for a good romantic comedy. When she's not writing for The Crescent, she's probably shopping or exploring the wonderful city of New Orleans!</p><div class="wp-biographia-links"><small><ul class="wp-biographia-list wp-biographia-list-text"><li><a href="mailto:jco&#109;&#105;te&#114;&#64;t&#117;lan&#101;&#46;edu" target="_self" title="Send Jordana Comiter Mail" class="wp-biographia-link-text">Mail</a></li> | <li><a href="https://tulanemagazine.com/author/jordanacomiter/" target="_self" title="More Posts By Jordana Comiter" class="wp-biographia-link-text">More Posts(15)</a></li></ul></small></div></div></div><!-- WP Biographia v4.0.0 -->

Dear Class of 2022…
