I think a friend of mine said it best one late night at a pizza shop in Charlotte. I do not remember her exact words, though I do remember my interpretation of them. The takeaway was this: when you and your friends return home from one year of college, though you each will return more mature, you may find that you have each matured in different directions. This, my friends, is not such a negative thing.

I remember making promises my senya year (doe) (inside joke from WA Hough High School) to always stay the same. We had watched college kids return home for the past four years and we all swore we would never be them. “Robots,” we would call them. And all they could say was that college is a magical place where everything is better. But that, at the time, seemed like false hope. What could be better than kicking back with your best friends who you’ve known for years?

Trust me, college is a magical place where everything is better. I had amazing friends in high school, many of whom I continue to speak to and hang out with. However, what I have with them is a memory of the past. We have times to look back on and laugh about, but we stopped making new memories. I have spent the whole year getting to know people whom I would have never met if I didn’t go to Appalachian. I have spent a year with 40 people, 20 boys and 20 girls, all living on one floor. I have grown as an individual, just as my friends from home have. Unfortunately for the high school senior in me, I have grown in a different direction than the majority of my high school friends have.

The friendships that still work are the ones that recognize this mutual maturation and are able to grow on the idea that things are inevitably and unapologetically different. I am so happy of the person that I am becoming thanks to my time in Boone and I refuse to stand by those who drag me down to anything less than my full potential. I haven’t reached the end of my maturation by far; I am still a work in progress, but I like to be around those who are looking to the future, rather than the past. I like to spend time with the people that are willing to talk about how we are now, as young adults, and where we see ourselves going. I like the people who realize that there are two people in a conversation. The people who ask questions, but also present answers. I want to hear about what you have done with yourself, whether your first year was a rough trek, or a beautiful journey. I want to hear about the days that I missed while you were off becoming the person you were meant to be. It really is not a simple task to be apart from someone for a year and try to pick back up like nothing has changed. I can really only say a handful of friends have been able to do so with me. I know I promised never to change, but life got the best of me, and I sure am glad it did.

I want to be clear when I say that the people I was friends with in high school were great people, probably some of the best. I am so thankful for my high school experience. But I am growing and I need people who are growing too. For us to be apart for so long, something has got to be different. I want my friends to be accepting of the changes that I have made and I will in turn be accepting of their changes. That is what I think lacks in many high school friendships: having the maturity to accept when someone changes and still love them. But in any regard, leaving home really shows you who your true friends are. It is really not difficult to keep in touch with the people you want in your life. It's 2016. If you can’t figure out how to communicate with people long distance, there must be something wrong. So to all of the friends who have stuck by me, despite all of the changes I have made, thank you. Thank you for accepting the person I was in high school and the person I am today.

Going to college is a weird experience and returning home is even weirder. Trying to mesh two completely different worlds together isn’t even easier said than done. It is a challenge. But I assure you, you’ll be surprised by the friends who are up for the challenge. I don’t know why we all thought that never changing would be the best option for us after high school, but thank god I outgrew that one. I couldn’t be more proud of the person I am today and I’m thankful for the friends I am able to share my new self with. Shout out to you guys; I hope you never change.