Last weekend, I had the most amazing surprise ever. My college friend flew all the way from Indiana to come visit me in Connecticut. But the thing is, I HAD NO IDEA. As my parents were picking her up at the airport, I thought they were shopping together. When they came home, they claimed that they "got me something," so I assumed it was a new article of clothing or something casual. Instead, my friend comes running up my basement stairs and I couldn't believe it! I couldn't say anything for two minutes, I was in such a state of shock. I just stood there and stared at her, until the tears started flowing. I hugged her for 10 minutes straight. Two months away had been way too long, and since I lived so far away from school, I never thought any of my friends from school would come to my house--I was just so happy to see her on the east coast. And the weekend that she was here was probably the best weekend of summer. I noticed there were some things that happened when she was here--it is so very different than when you have your high school friends over.
1. You do not care how you look.
In college, your friend has seen you in sweatpants and PJs, without makeup, or even when you were not feeling good. When my friend, Leah, surprised me I was in a big t-shirt and shorts. Not to mention, I had not showered from my workout that day, so I probably smelled terrible. Yet I did not care one bit because we had worked out together before.
2. You get to show them the best of your town.
On the last day, my mom made us go to some of the local museums around town. One of the museums is a house that was hit by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War. I had not been in that house since elementary school, and I found the tour so interesting. I would never have went back there if it weren't for Leah's coming into town!
3. You get to play tourist.
I live pretty close to NYC, so I go into the city all the time. The thing is, I never do touristy things in NYC. This time, however, we went to the top of 30 Rock and it was an amazing experience. You could see the whole island of Manhattan! I got to play tour guide and tell Leah what buildings we were looking at. I even bought an "I Love NYC" shirt. So you could say I really got into the touristy spirit.
4. You appreciate where you grew up.
I chose to attend Butler University because I wanted to meet different people that did not have the same lifestyle as I did. Leah told me that when people from her town go to New York City it is a HUGE deal. While on the other hand, I have had birthday dinners in NYC, and casually go in to do some shopping or see a Broadway show. I definitely love that I grew up on the east coast, and going away to college has made me very grateful.
5.You realize that a four-month summer is TOO long!
I didn't realize until I saw Leah that I missed my friends at Butler, A LOT! Yes, I love sleeping in my own room and just watching TV all day, but it can get lonely. I miss leaving my door open and having people just stop in my dorm room to talk to me. All of my friends at Butler were either down the hall, or a call away. I missed staying up late laughing until my stomach hurt (which may have also been from the late night snacks, too). I missed driving around in my car singing songs at the top of our lungs. Leah's visit me made me feel like I was right back at school.
Looking back, I CANNOT believe that this happened last week! I now want more friends to come visit me over the summer (seriously though, hit me up)! I also encourage you to make a trip and visit your best friend from school. It is the best experience. Also, I would like to give a huge shoutout to my amazing family for giving me this experience, and of course to Leah also for dropping everything and coming to stay with me for a weekend.
