Having curly hair is something no one understands unless they have it. People with straight always look at us and say how much they would love to have curly hair like us, because they think their hair is so boring. However, us curly haired girls look at straight haired girls and think wow it must be so easy, you just shower and thats it. You don't have to put product in, you can leave the house with wet hair and not have to worry about your hair blowing up into a frizz ball, and summer and swimming must be so much easier. Now don't get me wrong curly hair can be pretty when all the right elements align, when you use enough product and when the weather outside is just right. But otherwise our hair is just crazy. 

Growing up I hated my hair so much, I would look in the mirror and just cry and I didn't understand why I couldn't have straight hair like other girls. I wore my hair in a pony tail for most of my childhood because one, I didn't know how to style it, so it was a puff ball, and two, I thought this would hide my curly hair. Then once I got to high school I figured something must be done, so I straighten my hair every single day, in fact I can count on one hand the amount of times I wore my hair curly to school. I just thought it made me ugly and people wouldn't like me because I had different hair. This is a hard time and I know many girls with curly hair who have felt the same around middle school/high school age. It wasn't until this past year in college that I learned to love my curly hair to the point that I never really straighten it anymore. To be honest it definitely took the right product to figure this out, but I wish someone would have told me to embrace what nature and genetics gave me, and I would have learned to love my curly hair sooner. I would have saved so many tears and countless hours of damaging my hair to straighten it. 

So here's my advise to curly hair girls, don't ever be embrarssed to have curly hair, this is what you were born with so you should own it. Would it be easier to have straight hair? Yes, but having curly hair makes you unique, because no two people with curly hair ever have the same type of curls, and this is a pretty cool thing. Also life is short so don't waste your days blow drying and straighten your hair because no matter what you are beautiful, so own your curly hair and go live your life. And if some days your hair is especially unruly just learn how to do a messy bun or learn how to do all types of braids, these are life savers!

I know it isn't always easy, but i'm in it with you,

love your fellow curly haired girl!

In my life I have a big sister and I have best friends, but then you came along. After I got my bid it was shortly time for big/little week. This meant talking to all the potential sisters who could potentially be my big. But for me the decision was so easy. The second I meet you I knew you were meant to be my big. We are so unbelievably similar and sometimes this scares me. However, even though I thought you realized this too, I was so beyond scared that you would pick someone else as your little. But then big/little reveal day came and it was finally time to find out. That whole day I was so nervous because the big you get can have a huge affect on not just how your years in your sorority will go but also the rest of your life. As I walked around waiting to see who would be the person to blow out my candle my nerves kept building and building. I kept walking past your big (Hi G) and your big big (Hi GG), and this made me even more excited. And then out of no where there you came and you blew out my candle. I was so beyond happy, because I knew I didn't just get the best big, and amazing family, but I also just gained a best friend and another big sister. 

From big/little reveal day forward, it was so clear that we were truly a perfect match. We are both smart, weird, awkward, quirky, brunettes, country music lovers, adventure seekers, foodies, coffee obsessed and the list goes on and on. But the weirdest of them all is that we come from the same town. Our entire lives we have lived and grown up in the same town and never meet. But then I came to Ramapo and and it took our sorority for us to meet. This blew my mind when I first meet you, but at the same time only confirmed that we were meant to be big and little. This makes it that much easier over breaks to still see each other, because lets face it were attached at the hip. 

We have only been big and little for a couple of months now, but it feels like its been forever. In the short time since, you have played such a huge part in my life. You have become my role model, my mentor, my food soul mate, you have given me some of the best advise I ever needed, you have been there for me at the drop of hat whenever I have needed you (like staying up until 3 in the morning face timing just to make sure i'm ok). You are so much more than just a big, you have become my best friend and sister in such a short time and i'm so thankful for you. Growing up I had always heard about how close some bigs and little's are and how some don't end up being close. I wanted a big/ little relationship where we would be so close that people wouldn't understand, and guess what, I think we achieved that. Although it's only been just a few months I know that the inseparable bond we have now will remain for the rest of our lives. I am so beyond lucky to have such an amazing person as a big, and I can only hope that I can be as good of a big to my future little one day!

Love you Biggie, I wish all little's could have a big like you!

A big sister can be a difficult role to fill. Being the eldest, you’re supposed to pave the way for your younger siblings all while navigating life for yourself. 

When I first came into this world, my sister was promoted from being the only child. For a while, I was your personal baby doll, but then I started growing up and became this annoying little sister. All I wanted to do was hang out with you and your friends because truth be told I just wanted to be you.

We’re a handful of years apart, so you’ve always been the older, cooler sister.It was amazing to be the only kid in middle school who had an older sister that was able to drive. 

We were always so close growing up, especially with our rooms being right next to each other. You have always been a role model for me growing up. You taught me how to dress, how to do my hair and most importantly you taught me how to not make the mistakes you made.

When you left for college it felt like my world was ending. After we dropped you off at your dorm, I remember crying the entire drive back home. It all became too real. The thought of being left alone in the house with just mom and dad was so upsetting. Our lives were about to completely change and I wasn’t prepared to do things without you or start going to Starbucks alone. 

It was kind of hard to keep our close bond with you off at school living this new life and me back at home. We would talk as often as we could, but you were an adult now and I was just this kid and our worlds were now so different. Then you became apart of your sorority and had all of these new sisters. This made me so jealous. At the time, I didn’t fully understand how you were able to acquire all these new sisters that you had all this fun with, instead of me. 

When you moved back home after graduation, we both morphed into these completely new people. I came out of my shell and was no longer this little girl with freckles and baby chub. I became an outgoing, mature girl who had this new found self-confidence. You almost didn’t recognize your not so little sister anymore. 

We went through this phase where we had to relearn each other. Needing to figure out these new people who we had developed into. This was a hard, but rewarding process to go through. Although some times we struggle, especially now that I’m the sister in college and will once again be developing into a new version of myself. 

At least we now know how to go about our relationship through its many twists and turns. 

I’m so grateful to have a big sister, best friend, and role model like you in my life. I look up to you in so many ways, you probably don’t even realize it. 

You have shown me determination and how to make mistakes and learn from them. Not to mention, you have given me a second wardrobe. What I’m actually truly grateful for is that we wear the same size now.

I seriously don’t know what I would do without you in my life. Granted although our relationship isn’t perfect, they say you only fight with people you truly love because of how much you care about them. So, I guess we care about each other a whole lot. Thank you for accepting me as I am, my craziness and all. 

I am so lucky to have a big sister like you.

The day I graduated high school was one of my proudest days of my life. I had made it to a huge milestone in life and had proved to myself that hard work and dedication can give you everything you could ever want. There I was in my gap and gown with my diploma in hand, my best friends besides me, and I couldn’t be more excited to start college in the fall. Senior year was by far the best year of high school. You had your license, you were maturing into this adult applying to colleges, and you were finally the big man on campus. Everyday you would walk though the hallways with your best friends some of which you have known since you were a little kid. In a way senior year is a dream, you can’t believe that you made it to this point and in a way it came so fast. You know that this time next year you’ll be in college and be separated from your family, friends and town you have grown up in. But at the same time you feel like senior year will never end, but you want it to so badly. Here is some advise to all you seniors who are hoping that this last month of senior year will fly by:

This last month is the best part, you have all picked the school you will be attending in the fall and all the stress of applying to school is finally behind you. By this point you have found your true friends and all the drama of high school is in the past. You have prom week to look forward to, prom, graduation and project graduation. All of theses events are what you wait all of high school to experience. But heres what I want you to do, don’t rush this last month, enjoy every moment because once high school’s over things will never be the same. Trust me all of these events will come in time, and before you know it you’ll be sitting in the seat I was a year ago with your cap and gown and diploma in hand. Spend as much time with your family and your friends. These are the people who have watched you grown up and once you leave for school these relationships will change dramatically. Your parents will never treat you like their little kid again because once college starts your an adult. And although you think you will keep in touch with all of your high school friends, hate to brake it to you but you wont. Some relationships will fade as you make your new life for yourself and some relationships will remain, however, it will never be the way it was in high school. So enjoy every last moment of your senior year of high school, because before you known it you’ll be a freshman once again, navigating a big campus wishing you were back in high school were everything was so simple and easy. Don’t get me wrong college is way better than high school, but your going to miss it, so savor every last moment. 

Congradulations to the (almost) class of 2018, I hope you leave your mark on high school in every way you could hope for. 

Mom’s are put on this earth to help bring new life into this world. And I just happen to be so beyond lucky to have you as my mom. 

You have one of the most beautiful souls I have ever known. You’ve been through countless trials and tribulations and you have shown me what true strength looks like. 

Being a girl can be quite difficult in our world and you have shown me how to love the person I am even when I doubt myself. 

At all hours of the day, you’re always there for me whenever I need you. Whether I need a shoulder to cry on, a sounding board for advice, a personal shopper, a chef when I’m hungry or just a private barista in your kitchen, you always know what I want and need. 

From the time I was born, we’ve been attached at the hip. I always wanted you near me. From sitting on your lap to holding your hand, to our endless cuddle sessions. 

As much as I’m a “daddy’s girl,” I am just as much of a “mommy’s girl.” I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be just like you. 

I wanted to cook like you, dress like you and wear the same red lipstick as you, which is why I always stole your makeup — sorry for that, by the way. 

Growing up I would always “drive you nuts,” with my crazy personality. From weird voice impressions while taking a bath to random dance parties in the kitchen, I always knew how to make you laugh. It’s impossible for us to stay mad at each other.

Most mother’s and daughters have a hard time being close because they don’t share the deep conversations we do. I don’t hold back anything from you because we are so close, I feel comfortable sharing every bit of my life with you. I’m proud of the relationship we have and I’m confident it will always continue. 

Having you as my best friend is one of my favorite parts of life, knowing that even when I mess up, you will be there to pick me up. You never judge me for the choices I make. You realize that it’s my life and I am going to make some wrong decisions along the way, but in the same token, you are always there to guide me along the way. 

Seeing you be the remarkable woman and loving mother that you are, leaves the expectations pretty high for who I turn out to be. I hope one day that I can be half the mother you are, and can shape my kids lives in the way you have shaped mine. And if I ever have a daughter, I hope I have the relationship with her that we share. 

Thank you, mom. 

Thank you for your constant love and support. 

Thank you for always being there for me. 

Thank you for being my best friend and most importantly the most amazing mother. I don’t know what I would do without you in my life and I’m so blessed to have you. 

Dad and daughter relationships can be one of the most complicated relationships in a girl's life. But for the lucky ones (like me) your dad is your best friend. From the minute I was born I captured your heart with my little round face and my dimples and from there on out you were screwed. I was such a little trouble maker when I was little always making messes and getting into trouble but this never bothered you because when you were little you were exactly the same. From a young age people would always say how much we looked alike and that I was the girl version of you. When I was little I thought this meant that I looked like a boy, but as I have grown older I love it. You never had a son, only daughters, but for as girly as I am, I was always down for baseball games, and eating until we were about to explode. I don't know if we have this connection because I'm your baby or because our personalities are just that similar. We both always know just what to say to help someone feel better and were both known as the comedians of the family (although this can get us into trouble sometimes). We are truly patterns in crime, from our endless love of ice cream, to the crazy adventures we have in the car, to being so lazy when it comes to school work (while still having the ability to get almost perfect grades), I don't know what I would do without you. 

Throughout my whole life we have always been so close and especially in high school. I don't know if it's because we spent a year in the car together as you taught me how to drive, or just our similarities as a whole. We both for so long dreaded the talk of college because that would mean me leaving and that your baby would be all grown up. All of high school as I watched Natalie (my older sister) off at school, I had big plans to go far, far away. And although this broke your heart, you were ok as long as I was going to be happy. But then I picked my dream school that happened to be down the road and although it was close to home we agreed that I would live there. I saw how happy this made you, the fact that I wouldn't be far but i'd be far enough to have my own chance to mature into the person I was always meant to be. You always told me growing up, that although you would always worry about be, your weren't worried. You knew that I had a bright future ahead because I was one of the most driven kids you had seen. Whenever we would talk about my future I would go on and on about all these big plans I had to travel the world and how I want to be a psychologist and this means I would most likely need to go to grad school. You would just listen to me ramble on and on about these crazy dreams with a simile on your face, because in your heart although they seemed difficult, you knew if I put my mind to anything I could make it happen. 

I was so excited to go to college, so ready to have this new experience all my own. All summer leading up to move in day, you saw the excitement all over my face, and as this day came closer I saw the sadness on yours. In passing you would always joke and say, "how am I going to live in this house without you?". We would both laugh but deep down I knew it was true. I knew you were excited for me because I was going to my dream school and was ready to start this new adventure. Maybe you just couldn't believe that your youngest was going off to school, but before we knew it the day was here. We packed the car and moved me in to my freshman dorm. Hours after unpacking and sweating the time came for you and mom and Nat to leave. As we said our goodbyes, you could barley look at me, but I saw the tears you were holding back. You drove away and that was it, I was in college, your baby. But me being at school didn't change anything, we talk on the phone and face time several times a day, and when I am stressed you are always the voice of reason that knows how to calm me down. There is a safety in you, that when I'm having a bad day no matter what you say you know how to instantly make me feel better. And when i'm to hard on myself you remind me that although college is serious I deserve to have some fun too! I know this is stereotypical, but maybe I feel safe because you are my personal teddy bear and body guard, and I know whenever i'm with you I'll be safe. 

You were one of my first friends in this world, the first man I ever loved, and I don't know how I could live life not having you as my best friend and personal comedian. You have taught me how to be just as weird as you and I couldn't be more thankful. Thank you for being my dad, thank you for your constant support, and thank you for doing anything in this world to make me happy. You are one of the best people I have met in this world and I am beyond thankful that I am lucky enough to be your daughter. 

I love you dad, and we will always be partners in crime, so let's keep the good times and ice cream coming!

A best friend is hard to come by, and when your blessed with a beautiful soul as a best friend, you should thank the lucky stars that has brought this person into your life. We meet freshman year of high school after thinking each other was beyond weird all of middle school. From the first time we talked in gym class I knew we were destined to be best friends. We are so beyond similar sometimes it feels like we share the same brain, because we always seem to be thinking the same things. But for as similar as we are, we also seem to balance each other out. You are someone who lives life more on the edge ready to jump at all times and as crazy as I can be, I am definitely more reserved. We seem to balance each other out and bring out the best in each other. When were together it is never short of memorable. Whether it’s our famous drives where we like to think we our professional singers who are putting on a concert, our countless Starbucks runs, me making you laugh with the crazy things I say, and the countless snaps and texts we send each other. You constantly know when i’m in need of a laugh and usually this is done by you tagging me in a meme on Facebook. People hate to hang out with us when were together because they never seem to know what were talking about because our inside jokes our endless. How you put up with me, you deserve a medal. From my crazy personality, to never having a filter on what I say, to my extreme obsession with Starbucks, I don’t know how I am so lucky to have a friend like you stick by me, because I don’t know if I could do it. You make it so easy to be your friend because of your easy going personality and your ability to always know what to say (even though you call me your personal therapist). You are truly one of the strongest people I know and I don’t know how you are always able to keep your head so high despite life getting in the way. We have been there for each other through it all, from broken hearts, to family drama, to losses and excitements and everything in-between. 

When we started applying for colleges we knew that this would end our time in school together. We would go from having almost every class together and owning the halls of high school, to being miles apart, but we weren’t scared.You would one day be a nurse and I would be a psychologist (surprise surprise, of course it’s both in the health field), and unfortunately we would need different schools to accommodate our future endeavors. For the longest time I would say I was leaving and going as far away as I could, when deep down we knew you were staying local. But then college visits started happen and it turned out I found my dream school less than 30 minutes away from home. So even though we would be attending different schools we wouldn’t be as far away as we once thought. We planned the amount of visits you would take up to my school being that I was living there and all the crazy times we would have. We’ll once college actually set in these visits became fewer and fewer. We went from high school where we spent every minute of every day together to just a couple of text and snaps a day, if we were lucky. Now for any other friendship this would be the point when their friend ship would slowly slip away. But not for us, if anything this brought us closer. When we would get to see each other over breaks it always felt like no time had passed at all and we made sure to fill each other in on every little detail so we knew exactly what was going on in each others lives. 

I am so beyond lucky to have a life long friend like you. You are my person, my future bridesmaid, sister, aunt to my future children, the Monica to my Rachel, the Meredith to my Christina, the Carrie to my Samantha, the peanut butter to my jelly, but most importantly you are my best friend. I have no idea what I would do with out you and I know I will never have to worry about that because were not going anywhere without each other. I can’t wait to make so many more memories together and get to reminisce about them when were old ladies in wheel chairs screaming to talk to each other because we can’t hear a word each other is saying. (But let’s not rush it because we have a lot more living to do and way to many memories to be made).

Love you to the moon and back my forever friend

I hope everyone out there is as lucky to have a best friend like you because if not, I’m sorry but your missing out! I love you Meg….happy early 19th birthday!

We were happy and had all the potential in the world to have a successful relationship. It started out innocent but our conversations made it real. We had real adult conversations about the world and what we wanted for our futures. But then quickly people got in our way. They would come up to me and tell me how bad you were for me, but I would ignore them. But when enough people started to tell me you were no good and I started to believe them, as they got into my head. To be honest I was scared, I was scared you would hurt me and brake my heart, and I didn’t think I could mentally handle that. I knew what we had together and how we were happy when it was just us. But lets be honest a relationship gets exposed and the world around us wasn’t supportive. To be even more honest I think the world was jealous. They were jealous to see us happy and because we were so different and they wanted to tear us apart because they didn’t think we would last anyway. We were different you were more risky and lived life on the edge, and I was a girl who at the time played by the books, scared if I didn’t follow the rules I would get in trouble. I also had so much going on in my life between applying to colleges and my grandma being so sick, this seemed like the perfect excuse for an easy out. So thats just what I did, I told you that we would be better off as friends at that point in time and left it at that. You were so mad at me and the next day the drama stirred. I felt terrible because I did it out of no where with no real explanation. I should have come to you and told you my worries about us, instead of just jumping to conclusions. The days that came after one of the most bold decisions I ever made were very difficult. I was constantly second guessing myself and all I wanted to do was talk to you about it. But you were still so mad, and rightfully so because you didn’t even know why I ended things. In the weeks following you meet someone new and this hurt me so deeply, you moved on so fast and here I was still struggling with the decision I had made. But then you guys broke up and it felt like for the rest of the year we were on a roller coaster, one minute you were trying to talk to be with me again and the next minute you guys were back together. This gave me anxiety on a daily basis because all I could think about is what would of happened had I never ended things in the first place and we had given us a real chance. I would still get excited every time I would see, just to see the reaction that would come. Senior year was a crazy ride and before we knew it, it was graduation and I couldn’t have been more excited and more ready to move on to college. I had thought once I left for college you would leave my mind, but that never seemed to happen. You still revolved around my world because we knew the same people and we were from the same town. I even saw you before I left for school and we thought this was the last time we would probably see each other. So I went off to college and made a new life for myself there and meet the most amazing people and was loving life. But then once again you crept in, you started texting me and snap chatting me and just like that you pulled me back in once again. Just as I finally rid myself of you, you just knew what to say and do to get me back. Once again it felt like my life revolved around you. Maybe this was because we both felt like we never gave each other a chance and there are so many what ifs, but this just wasn’t healthy to keep going back and forth. You had said you couldn’t believe how much I had changed in a year, and how I was no longer this little innocent high school girl you had once known. This was exciting for you because you wanted to get to know the new me. But the new me didn’t want you to know me. I didn’t want you to gain control over my new found confidence because I knew if you did, I would slip back to who I had used to be. 

I do feel that we never had a chance to see what we could have been, but at least we learned a lot of what not to do when you meet someone you care about. Personally I know I will never make the same mistakes I made with you again. I have learned to listen to myself and to never let people get in my head again in regards to a relationship. At the end of the day it’s my life and if I’m going to mess up, well at least I’ll provide people with a lot of entertainment along the way. I am sorry for what we have both gone through, and who knows maybe our paths will cross again someday and maybe they won’t. But at least we can take away the lessons we have learned from each other, and that is something I am grateful for.

This is to all my girls who have experienced what I have, high school may not have given you your prince charming, but just know you can move forward and he is out there waiting for you (even if he doesn’t know it yet). 

All year you have been this college student who has been on their own, left to fend for yourself. But here you are, you just finished finals (as you pray for good grades), your packing up your room that has been your home for the past few months, your having mixed emotions about leaving your college friends, while being so excited to see your friends and family. Coming home from college is exciting because you know that you have worked your butt of all year to get good grades and your ready for time to breath and return to the town you have grown up in. However, coming home after your freshman year of college is quite a weird position to be in. You have had all this freedom and independence at school where you made this new image for yourself. Only to return to the town that you once knew every detail about, and where you will once again lay your head down in you childhood room, where there seems to be this sense of security. As you drive home from completing your freshman year with your dads car stuffed to the max with all of your dorm room belongings, there is some anxiety to return to the town you grew up in. You pull into the driveway and you feel at peace being in the comfort of your own home. You run in the house, hug your mom and pet your dog and you have never felt so comfortable. But then reality sets in that you now have to somehow unpack and mesh all of your childhood items with everything from your dorm room. As you unpack and start putting everything away, you start coming across items that begin flooding you with memories. You see the shirt from the night that you and your friends went out and danced the night away. You find the t-shirt that says little on the front from big little reveal, and you can't imagine what your life was like before you meet your big. You find your first pair of sorority letters and you realize that becoming apart of your sisterhood was the best choice you have ever made (I love you all my Sig Delt sissys). Eventually everything finds it's home and you look around your room, and it almost feels like freshman year never happened. Did I even go to college? And if so, how did this past year go so quickly? 

As you sit at home you look around the house that you have reached so many milestones of your life in and you can't believe your home. But then excitement starts to set in as your high school friends that you haven't seen in so long start blowing up your group chat (I love you Cancun Clan). You all decide to go out to celebrate being back together, the crazy summer your about to have all together and all surviving your freshman years of college. You tell your parents your going out and you'll see them tomorrow. Oh but not so fast…. the questions start flying, where are you going? Who are you hanging out with? and what time do you plan on being home? Just like that your truly back home, you feel that freedom you had at college start to slip away as you being to realize your living under your parents roof once again.

Coming home from college is amazing, you can eat home cooked food, pet your dog, spend time with your family and reunite and continue making crazy memories with your high school friends. But with coming home, some of the privileges you had at school might slowly slip away just as quickly as freshman year did as well. Just remember that although this adjustment may be difficult, take it easy on your parents, because just as quickly as you wanna run out of the house to rummage around the town you have missed, they have missed you too and want to spend time with their now adult child. Just compromise with them, because as it is, without them you wouldn't be on the path of success that you are on right now, and you would also be swimming in college debt. Enjoy every minute of this summer, spend time with your family (who loves and missed you so much), make tons of memories with your friends, eat lots of ice cream, get tan at the beach, make those unforgettable snap stories, and most importantly relax because when you return in the fall those papers and exams will hit you hard. Your going to greatly miss the care free summer you had, as once again all those memories and tan lines begin to fade away.

I love you summer, please treat me well and be a memorable one for the books, #summer2017

RCNJ class of 2020