“No one looks back on their life and remembers the nights they got plenty of sleep.”
And isn’t that the truth? I’ve only spent a year of my life at college, but it was a million times better than I could have ever imagined it to be. I went into college looking for a fresh start and eager to meet as many new people as possible. I got lucky enough to go to the same school as my best friends from home. We had decided together that we would each get different roommates and branch out from each other. My entire high school career we were attached at the hip, so it was a big step for all of us. We went through the whole process of getting new roomies, but it didn’t work out as planned. Two of my roommates moved out and my friends moved in. That left only one original roommate with us, but that was the start of the greatest time of my life. The four of us did absolutely everything together.
1. We shared every college “first” together.
Every “first” I had at college, whether it be my first drink or the first time I used the printer in the library (I didn’t the first semester because I was too scared), they were there with me. It could be midnight and they were comforting me in my tiny twin bed or waking me up to have a 3 a.m. dance party. There was never a dull moment. I thought I knew everything about my friends, but you don’t really know until you live with them.
2. Being able to bring a piece of home with me.
The first couple weeks of starting something new is always nerve-wracking and stressful. On top of that, I was in a new place, away from everything I’ve ever known, which made it worse. Having my friends there brought me immediate comfort and just talking about fun memories we had experienced together would ease my mind right away. They knew what would make me happy and could change my mood in an instant.
3. Decorating our room was 100,000 times easier.
Sharing a room together, we could fill the walls with pictures from high school because we were in them all together. We had things from our past that we shared and the pictures of our home friends reminded us of all the great moments we’ve had.
4. Sharing rides was always helpful.
Getting back and forth was difficult with only one of us having a car but we made it work. We would share rides as we would sing at the top of our lungs to and from. We would go home for big events happening in our hometown and be able to take the journey together. It was even fun when one of our parents came and got us because we were so excited to see another familiar face.
5. Understanding problems from home.
We all had our issues when we came to college whether it was with a boy from home or dealing with other family problems. Going into school with people who understood me already was extremely helpful. They always knew what I was upset about and were there to reassure that everything was going to be OK.
The thought of moving away from your best friends that you’ve had all your life and starting over is one of the scariest thoughts I had my senior year. I didn’t think I could get closer with anybody then I could with my solid group of friends, and I found out that I didn’t have to. Getting to go to college with two of my best friends from home has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in a while and I recommend it to anyone that gets the chance to do that.
