To the women I couldn’t live without,
The months leading up to college I was told by teachers, family members, college tour guides, random grocery store cashiers, and just about anyone who knew I was going to college that I would meet my lifetime best friends in college. Being the stubborn kid that I am I’d laugh and just think to myself “Yeah right!” By the end of Senior year, I had my best friends. I had friends I went to the movies with, friends I’d spent hours talking about high school gossip with, and friends I spent almost everyday with. Those were my best friends. We had hundreds of memories together and I couldn’t see meeting anyone that would change that. My first semester changed that attitude, quick.
When going off to college, everything in your life changes so quickly. One week you're still having to ask to go to the restroom during class, the next week you have to feed yourself and act like a somewhat functioning adult. The biggest change in your life when college comes around however, is your best friends. You realize some people were only your “best friends” because you spent five days a week for multiple years with those people. Distance and time shows you who your true friends are.
Realizing how few real best friends you have is the scariest thing in the entire world. You think to yourself and question if you are a giant loser because you only have one friend from home who texts you on a constant basis. You start to feel down and lonely until you look around at the best friends you have made in such a short period of time at school.
Your college best friends are so much different than your high school “best friends.” Not by looks or personality, but by a quality that just doesn’t have a name. There’s something about these best friends that just shows you that they’ll be in your life forever. When you look at these amazing women that you’ve become so close to so fast you realize these are your future bridesmaids, your children's future godmothers, women that when you’re 35 you’ll sit on your back porch with sharing stories about crappy PTA moms you’ve had to deal with all week.
The really special part about these best friends is they’re not people that have to associate with you. You go to a school with thousands of people, they choose to spend their time with you. These women don’t see you as the classmate they have to be nice to because you’re the only one they know in Algebra, these women see the special characteristics you're full of and couldn’t see having anyone else in their life but you.
Time and distance don’t even begin to damage the bonds you have with these best friends. When you pack up your room for winter or summer break the last thing on your mind is “Well I won’t hear from her until next school year begins.” You’re an important part of these ladies lives just like they are a huge part of your life. You’ll get random texts or calls from these women when they just have to fill you in on their lives. These women also don’t fear distance. You live an hour from her? Well she’ll drive to you just for a quick bite to eat at your Panera.
These ladies impact your life in such a huge way. They show you what it means to be a best friend. They’re a shoulder to cry on when life gets too hard, a bed to sleep in when you can’t be in your dorm any longer, the warm hug you need because things are getting rough, a source of laughter, and daily happiness. Most importantly, these women aren’t just best friends, they’re your people, your family. The people that you could call when it’s 2 am and you’re falling apart. These best friends are more than movie dates and memories. They’re your mom away from mom, the people you’ll grow old with.
College is hectic and it’s anything but pretty. You have stress breakouts, daily meltdowns, weekly panic attacks, boat loads of homework, and actual adult responsibilities. So let's be real, you’d be lost without your college best friends.
So this one’s to the women that I so gladly get to call my best friends. Thank you for being the amazing women you are.
With love,
Gabby
