Dear Friend,
We're almost halfway through college, and I'll still argue that you were one of the most important people I've met. You were the person who saw me during the biggest transition of my post-preteen life. You opened yourself up to me, and let me do the same. At a time I was friendless, and truly a stranger to everyone around me, you encouraged me to be myself. You reassured me that it was enough—in fact, the best. It is at these moments of vulnerability that we contemplate changing who we really are to be someone new, someone we think will be the most accepted and likeable. We recognize that this is self-destructive, and all of the years of assemblies and meetings to build up our self-esteem come flooding back to us. We hear our parents and teachers saying that we are enough, and that we should just be ourselves, but we think, “This is my time to completely reinvent myself. I can be someone new and no one will ever know.”
But then we meet other people who are in the same exact shoes that we’re in, and somehow, all of our insecurities seem to cancel each other out. Rather than the both of us pretending to be “cool,” we allow each other to be our real selves. These bonding moments are essential in the assimilation into college life, and I’m lucky to have had you to help me through it. We may not be the super close friends we thought we would be when we met on that sweaty, late-August day, but the fact that we underwent the same discomfort and transition period brought us together in a way that no other experience really can.
I see you around campus, and I don’t feel sad that we didn’t remain each others’ best friends and social cores. Rather, I feel happy that I had the opportunity to have you in my life in the first place. I know that you helped me become the college student that I am, and that my time, story, and role at this school in which we now so seamlessly exist, would not have come about the same way had you not been there for me during those first few weeks.
This is to let you know that I’m thankful for you. For letting your weirdest personality traits shine through to match mine. For taking the leap of faith and choosing to smile back and introduce yourself to me across the football field during that awkward, oddly stressful ice breaker game. For returning a slight head nod or “hello” whenever we run into each other around campus; and for asking about how my year is going, since we really only seldom see each other despite our initial, unspoken plans of walking everywhere together.
And finally, for giving me a buddy through my transition into the scary world of college, and as a result, helping to let out my truest me. Because of you, my first few steps toward independence and adulthood (though admittedly, they are still quite far off), were successful, and did not leave me fallen over on my face. Know that I’ll always be here if you need anything, even if it’s just a smile or hug between classes.
Best of luck always,
Your First College Friend
