This article is dedicated to all of my girlfriends I made throughout my first year of college, but especially to Caitlyn Baker, who said to me on Sunday, “Where is the Odyssey article about me?” Well, here it is.
As my Freshman year of college is coming to a quick close, I have started to reflect on all of the memories I have made this year. I am beginning to realize how extremely thankful I am for my college friends that have made my first year away from home, feel like I never left home at all.
I am so thankful for all of the ‘firsts’ we experienced together. Our first time having to do our own laundry, first dining hall experience, first college football game, first round of college finals, all the way to our first Spring Break together. We were there for each other throughout our first time of having to live without our parents by our sides, and all of our first holidays away from home. Instead of finding little chocolates outside of my room on Valentine’s day, I found Valentine’s Day socks with cats on them outside of my dorm room. Instead of hanging ornaments on the real Christmas tree in the living room back at home, we got to go buy a 3-foot plastic tree from Target together. You girls have been with me through it all this year, and there are no words to describe how thankful I am to have had each of you by my side throughout all of these messy ‘firsts.’
Thank you for all of the little things, that now as I look back, are huge. Thank you for all of the love letters and pick me up's left outside of my door before a difficult exam, and encouraging text messages that never fail to put a smile on my face and lift me up. Thank you for putting up with me on those Saturday night outings, and helping me bust some pretty sick moves on the dance floor. Thank you for being broke with me, and not making fun of me because you were in the same boat. For those of you who weren’t broke, thank you for the dinner dates, and for sometimes even making me a home-cooked meal.
I am beyond thankful that I found a handful of girls who laugh at the same episodes of "The Office" with me, and who share the same love for Bridesmaids and Elf as I do. Thank you for also sharing your favorite Netflix series with me, and for getting me hooked on "Friends" and "Greys Anatomy," only further worsening my Netflix binging habits.
Thank you for the movie, cookie dough, and wine nights, and for being willing to listen to my stories. (even if they aren’t as interesting or funny as I originally thought.) With that being said, thank you for loving me for all of my quirks and goofy sides, and thank you for the endless inside jokes.
The people that I met during my first few weeks at college, and who stuck with me are partially responsible for the person that I have become throughout my first year of college. Thanks to them, I have become someone who loves to laugh even more, and I have become someone who has learned to find friends who accept me for who I truly am. Thank you for helping me adjust and make college my home so quickly after leaving everything behind.
This year I created so many meaningful friendships, something that I thought I would never be able to have again since leaving high school. Without my girls, I would not have been able to make it through the many ups and downs of Freshman year.
I have my own little family now, and when I head back to my hometown in a few short days for the summer, I will now have hometowns all over the state.