Dear Juliana,
 
It's me, your 22-year-old self. Your college graduate self. Your NCAA Division I athlete self.
 
I'm here to tell you that everything has worked out. All the hard work, stress, dedication, and fighting made your dream of being an NCAA Division I student-athlete happen. There were many injuries, tears and emotional battles along the way, and you thought about quitting several times. You persevered nonetheless and came out on top. During these four years, you will meet the best and most wonderful people you could ever imagine. People who love, understand and support you. You will also experience how to truly love and be truly loved without conditions. While you will struggle with making the wrong decision on occasion, you learn to love yourself unapologetically and move on. You will overcome the unimaginable and remain seemingly untouched. You will become the strongest, most resilient and ambitious woman you know. You will also become thoughtful, outspoken and considerate, consistently fighting headfirst for the underdog in pursuing what is true, just, and fair.
 
Coming from the West Coast, you will experience Southern Hospitality in all its glory. Your male friends will open doors for you, and you will start saying "No, Ma'am" and "Yes, Sir." You will constantly battle your friends whether In-N-Out is better than Whataburger. You will become shocked when you and your team travels to other states and people don't hold doors open for you when you're behind them. You will even start to enjoy country music and no, I'm not lying.
 
Academically, you will persevere in one of UIW's toughest departments. You will be the only student-athlete in that department for many years. You will be told you don't belong there. However, you will once again persevere and prove them wrong. You will become well acquainted with the art of debate, discussion and reason. You will learn to actively understand why people believe what they believe based on their given situations and cards life has dealt them. You will learn to listen, empathize and compromise for the outcome of a win-win. Lastly, you will learn to slow down, to appreciate what you have at the moment, and that the best is yet to come. You will learn that shameless rest is the secret of superheroes. You will learn to have patience with yourself and that seeking help does not mean you're weak or incapable. You will learn that being an adult is a constant stream of unending chaos that sometimes flows by or hits like tsunamis. Your job is to adapt and roll with the punches. I believe you have everything you need in order to succeed. Trust me, I'm you.
 
Love,
Your Future Self