Dear College Freshman

You just got back to your dorm and locked that door behind you with the key hooked to the school lanyard. The thing your mom bought you at Wal-Mart to hang on the back of the door that holds your jacket and hats clanked when you shut it. The walk up from the parking lot after you hugged them goodbye was surreal.

I’m the last person on earth to be giving advice (though my wife will confirm, I still give it. A lot). But I wanted to share a few things with you as you sit there on twin-sized Target sheets and think about what’s next.

First, I want you to picture the people who got you here be it Mom, Dad, a teacher, or Pastor Tim at church. Picture them in your mind. I’m serious, picture them. You’re sitting here because of their love, sacrifice and countless prayers. I hope those faces you see in your mind are smiling back at you. Because they sure are smiling when they think of how far you’ve come. And you were worth every bit of love, sacrifice and countless prayers.

OK, here we go:

• Get involved somewhere. Join a campus ministry, write for the school paper, volunteer at the nature center, go on the Chile trip or play club sports. One of the best ways to make friends is to be doing something interesting with others. One of the best ways to hate college is to sit in your dorm room doing nothing. I spent most of my freshman year at the University of Tennessee wanting to transfer because I didn’t feel like I belonged. I was considering crazy things like going back home or transferring to, heaven forbid, Clemson. In sophomore year I stumbled into the Athletics Broadcasting department where I found what I loved, some mentors, a few lifelong friends, and eventually my career.

• None of my friends were dating their future spouses in their freshman year. Do with that what you will.

• Pursue an art form and consider taking a class: guitar, piano, theater, drawing, painting, swing dancing, or improv. Especially if it has nothing to do with your major. Do it badly. Do the boring things like sketching spheres and learning scales. Practice regularly and then share it with your friends, submit a piece to a gallery or play at an open mic night. I took a social dance class and it was one of my favorite semesters of college. I learned to foxtrot, waltz, salsa, and cha-cha. Also I was one of 5 guys in the class and it was nice to be fought over during test time because I was a good lead.

• Scholarships will often have a minimum GPA requirement. Read the fine print.

• Does your university love a sports team way more than it should? Good. Join them. Go to the games and sit in the student section. Learn the fight song. Read about the team and learn the players’ names. Sometimes in life, we need to care about things that don’t really matter. Rocky Top can bring a tear to my eye and some of my favorite moments in life are from when it’s played at weddings — all because of a silly football team.

• There is zero shame in taking your laundry home and having your mom do it every now and then.

• Sometime in the next four years, get some friends together and go to New York City. Visit museums, eat at restaurants, go to a Yankees game (not the Mets, they’re too depressing), go see a musical, take a history tour, and get up on top of a building somewhere.

• If you grew up in the faith, college is often where it gets tested. If it does, you’re OK. These beliefs are becoming your own. Good, real, life-giving belief grows through doubt, some scary, confusing nights, and open conversations with people we love and trust.

• Your friends are the people who will care about the person you are becoming. Choose them wisely.

Go do it. You’ve got this. We all believe in you. I’m going to go sing Rocky Top and convince myself the Vols are going to the playoff this year.