Citlali C.
Photography by Emma Joseph
If you’re reading this, the sun will rise again.
If you are reading this letter, the sun will rise again.
Chances are you're either freaking out about the mounting assignments, running on 3 hours of sleep, or puzzling if eating ramen noodles for four nights in a row constitutes "meal prepping." Believe me when I say: I have been there. College is hard! And not just academically—it's the
studying late into the night, the back-to-back obligations, the pressure to "figure out your future," and laundry appears to multiply while you're preoccupied. Sometimes it feels like a juggling act where you are one dropped ball away from complete hysteria.
Whenever I reach that point, when I feel I am at my breaking point or that I am the only person struggling, I always revert to something Mrs. Thompson, my elementary school teacher, would say: "The sun will rise."
At that time, I thought she was just stating the obvious. And then with age, I recognized that Mrs. Thompson was telling us something more. She was essentially reminding us that no matter how horrible today feels, there is tomorrow. So what if you bombed a test, or embarrassed yourself in front of your professor, or missed an assignment deadline because 11:59 turned to 12 while you were still trying to upload the file? The sun will rise.
Life doesn’t stop for you just because you’re having a rough day, and it will keep handing out second chances to you regardless of the level of your misfortunes. When life gives you lemons, and I mean really bad lemons, it’s difficult not to spiral down into despair. It’s easy to get caught up in seeing states, sentences, and moments as permanent. Life isn’t like that; the world keeps spinning. This is where my mantra comes in: “The sun will rise.” There’s solace in that phrase. It lends perspective. That all-nighter you pulled last night? Temporary. That group project you carried 99% of the weight on? Temporary. The best part of “the sun will rise” is that nothing—especially the hardest moments in life—lasts forever.
Of course, saying “the sun will rise” doesn’t make your struggles disappear. Your Canvas portal will still pop up and remind you that your quiz submission was “late by one minute.” Your email inbox will still resemble a tornado has passed through it, with dozens of unread emails from professors, companies, and campus organizations. But knowing that tomorrow will come means you don’t have to carry today’s burden forever. You’ll be able to set it down, rest, and try again.
College is a unique time in life where we are almost fools to think that every grade, every mistake, and every awkward situation is permanent and that these things permanently define us. Your GPA is not a part of your identity. Not even your lowest, worst days get to define your whole story; they are merely a chapter in your story, not your whole book.
So, if you are reading this letter in the middle of a breakdown (been there, done that), consider this your reminder to breathe. Get some sleep. Drink water and take a step outside, even if it is just for a few minutes, to remind yourself that the world is much larger than your own issue or assignment that seems like it might be impossible. The sun will rise tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that.
At the end of the day, college is merely a chapter—not all there is in the story. And tomorrow’s page is blank, waiting for you to write it.
Sincerely,
Citlali C., Wake Forest University
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