There is a romanticized idea that your childhood and high school friends are supposed to be the friends you have forever. While that is the case for some, most of us meet these life long friends in a later point in our lives. Life gets stressful and hectic. Often times it is tough to maintain these relationships with friends from back home with such great distance between you and them. However, there is one group of people that this does not apply to: your college friends.

I share incredible memories with my high school best friends and they will always hold a very special place in my heart. However, the friends you meet in college know you like no one else ever has before. They don't know the high school version of you. The version of you that they know and love is the version that is on the way to being the person you were always meant to be. Because of this, your college friends will be your friends for life.

• 1. They're with you 95% of the time.

In high school, you had two or three classes with your friends at best. Now, from eating, to sleeping, to library sessions, and everything in between you are constantly with them. They see the good, the bad and the ugly sides of you, but they still love you just the same.

• 2. They are always there to pick up the pieces

Usually in college you will end up living with your friends at some point. Even if they don't officially live with you, it pretty much feels like they do anyway since they are always over. And since they are always around, no matter the situation there will always be a shoulder to cry on. In high school friends can live up to 20 minutes away. Consoling is hard to do when you're 10 miles away from each other and your brother has the car. College is a time where heartache, stress, and disappointment are unavoidable. It helps to have multiple people you can count on to comfort you when things don't turn out as planned. When they see you at your most vulnerable, a special bond is formed. A bond so special that iis very difficult to attain any other way.

• 3. They reinforce any poor decisions you want to make (and do it with you…)

That extra tender on chicken strip day at the dining hall, the pizza you order after you already had a piece while you were out, stealing fraternity flags, taking naps instead of studying, and skipping your workout for the day (but who are we kidding that's every day.) They're there to negate your flaws that you would otherwise have beaten yourself up about.

• 4. They're there to celebrate the little things.

I've received texts ranging from “Nate liked my photo!" to “I declared my major!" It's tough to share life's mini celebrations when your friends at home have no idea that “Nate" even exists. In college your friends see all your stress, and they understand how the little things end up being the big things.

• 5. They're friends with you because they choose to.

Not because it's convenient or have something to gain by being seen with you. High school is full of petty drama and elitism. In some cases it's easier to befriend the enemy rather than compete for everything. College is a much different story. By now most people have matured and you have a pool of thousands of kids to choose from to befriend. You are only friends with the people that make an effort to be there, and the dependability of a seven-period class day isn't there anymore. As a result you know that the people you surround yourself with are doing so because they choose to be, and that's a really incredible feeling.

• 6. You grow up and find yourselves, together.

I'll never forget the time that a friend and I stayed at the library until 3am during midterms, doing everything but studying. Instead we had an excessively deep discussion about life and what we want our futures to hold. Talks like these are special and should be cherished. There is no other time in your life that your entire world lies in your hands. It's one of the most exciting times and you get to share every trial and tribulation with your best friends. Throughout life, everyone you meet makes some sort of impact on who you are. Your friends in college hold the key that unlocks the to-good-to-be-true moments, unbelievable memories, laughter that makes you cry, and the shaping of the rest of your life. Hold on to these people, and cherish them for a lifetime because it is in these moments where you find your forever friends.

Throughout life, everyone you meet makes some sort of impact on who you are. Your college friends hold the key that unlocks to-good-to-be-true moments, unbelievable memories, laughter that makes you cry, and the shaping of the rest of your life. Hold on to these people, and cherish them for a lifetime because it is in these moments where you find your forever friends.