In my experience, I’ve learned that college friends are NOTHING like back-home friends. In fact, they are completely different breeds of friendship, even if you carry some of your back-home friends to college with you. Being home for the holidays has really put this notion into perspective for me.

Your high school friends never saw you struggle the way your college friends do. College struggle is another world of pain entirely. College friends have to sit there, day in and day out, listening to you complain about the same class all semester. But what’s even better? You’re not doing anything about it! And they’re sure as hell not going to tell you that so instead they contribute to your self-destructing actions. They encourage you to skip studying to go to that Alpha Theta Pi party just to be ignored by Chad all night. It’s a vicious cycle.

Also, college is a time of failed relationships. Call me pessimistic but college age is the age at which all women have just gone through a serious heartbreak or two. In turn, your college friends are the ones who have to listen to you crying all night about their cheating, no-future, scum of the earth ex while trying to cheer you up without being too harsh. “It’s okay, he didn’t deserve you QUEEN,” “You’re the whole package and he isn’t even worthy of the lifted inner corner of your falsies.” Meanwhile they're also trying to encourage you to put yourself out there. And when putting yourself out there didn’t work, you’re back in their bed crying.

On the other end of the spectrum, college friends are also the ones that want to see you succeed more than you probably do. Any small step is a celebratory moment. “OMG you got a 78 on that test? That’ll bring you up to a D-. I’m so proud!” College friends want to see you excel. But, this also means they’re harder on you than high school friends. Regardless of if you listen, I feel like college friends have your best interest in mind and therefore feel like they should step in when they see you not reaching your full potential.

I’d personally like to thank my college friends. College is an amazing experience but only if you’re in the right hands. College friends are like the parents that you don’t have when you’re away from home. You live, eat, sleep and everything in between with them. They know you better than you know yourself.