I will be the first to admit it, I thought my high school friends leaving me behind would be the hardest thing I ever had to do...until I met my college friends. Sure, I still have plenty of great friends back home who I am still close with.
However, I made plenty of friends on campus too and comparing friends from home to the ones at college is like comparing apples to oranges. I know other people have noticed these key differences too, so here is a list of all the things that make your college friends and your high school friends so different.
1. You picked your college friends.
Your high school friends are people you typically have known for a long time. Seemingly, like forever. I have friends I have known since kindergarten and middle school. These friends, although you love them, you didn't particularly choose. You kind of just became friends with them out of convenience since you saw them five days a week for the past 12 years.
In college, you choose to be friends with people. Whether you see them only twice a week, you joined the same club as them or they are just in the same dorm as you. You chose to befriend your college buddies because they have at least some of the same interests as you...you just got stuck with the high school friends.
2. You live with your college friends.
This one is the most obvious. You are always walking distance from your college friends. If you are bored, what do you do? Walk across the hall. If you're really feeling crazy you might even walk across campus.
Whereas, at home, you have to deliberately make plans with someone. You have to drive to their house, and it becomes a whole ordeal. Living with your friends is quite simple; you come and go as you please.
3. They both know all about you... but in very different ways.
Your home friends know your birthday, your pet dogs name from when you were eight and where your parents work. Your college friends know about that time you got rejected at a party, when you cry in your dorm room and how many nights this week you bought Taco Bell. Your home friends know all about the past, and you catch them up on the present. Your college friends know all about the present, and you inform them of the past (if you want.)
4. You cannot hide ANYTHING from college friends.
College friends know everything that is happening in your life, especially thanks to the reasons above. You chose them, you live with them and they know all about you. You can't hide much from them like in high school. After school was done in high school, you went home and could be alone.
Now, there is nothing to hide...your college friends will notice any slight change in your demeanor, behavior or looks, so you might as well just tell them whats going on.
5. Your college friends just seem so cool.
These people are from all over the world. You are now meeting people from so many different states, cities and walks of life.
Your friends at home come from your same boring state, in your same boring city and went to your same boring high school. The diversity makes them just seem so much more interesting.
6. Your college friends do everything with you.
In my own experience, I have specific home friends for different activities. Some friends I like to lay around with, some friends I would go out to eat with, some friends you would just go out to parties with.
In college, you do literally everything with your friends. Whether its chores, going to eat in the dining hall or just laying in the bed.
7. Your college friends know nothing about how you used to be.
In high school, it was common for my friends and me to talk about crushes, exes, other people within our school and events that happen around us. My high school friends and I have changed heavily since starting college, but topics about the people in our past and the traditions of our community will never go away.
Your high school friends might have changed since then, but the topics won't. In college, it is totally different.
The friends that you meet here talk about brand new things. You will never talk about the people in your past, now you will be talking about classes, goals, jobs and all your new mutual friends.
College friends are very different than home friends. It's a phenomenon. At the end of the day, every friend you make is special and unique, whether they are from your hometown or your university!
