Going into my second year of college I've come to realize one thing, I'm really bad at making long term friends. I have instantly clicked with countless people but once summer came it's been radio silence. Back in my hometown it was always easy to have those types of friendships that resulted in constant group chatting and slumber parties, because you were grouped with the same 25 people. I'm talking like the whole you're best friends with the kids that sit next to you because you all share the same last initial.

I understand that the whole process of creating those long term friendships can take a long time, but being dragged away from all of your friends for four months out of the year can really take a toll on those relationships. I have made one friend that has kept in communication with me consistently throughout the summer but other than that things have gotten pretty lonely.

I really do hope that these things change and that my relationships only grow from this point on but it can get a bit discouraging. To all of you who lived in a small town for so long that you no longer know how to make friends, I applaud you. It is extremely difficult to watch all of your best friends leave and barely hear from them again. It is even harder to put yourself out there in hopes that the new friends you make could grow into the same ones you had. I find it really hard not to be able to waltz right into a friends house and sit on their couch till they get home.

There are perks to not being so close with people though. You have the opportunity to make tons of new friends, see which ones are there for you, and find a new "group". Going off to school and not having the comfortability of the same friends you've had for years is enlightening. I got the chance to be who I wanted to be rather than being "the theatre girl". Yes, I loved what I did but I no longer want to be looked at as the roles I played (Sharpay from High School Musical was NOT a fun way to be viewed).

I am now just Jordan. I get to be myself and do what I please. I got the chance to join the best group of girls I've ever met (talking about you my Alpha Xi sisters!!) and the chance to make friends outside of just that group. In high school I was always just known as that girl who dedicated her life to the theatre program, therefore I only hangout with other thespians. Granted those people were wonderful and I wouldn't change that experience for the world, it is difficult to know that you are put in a box. I am not just a sorority girl, I am also an avid hiker, a lobsterman, a Netflix bingeing pro, and most of all, a friend.

There are so many difficulties that come with feeling disconnected from your community, but if you embrace them you may get the chance to be the person you want to be and when you become that person the people who will go to Buffalo Wild Wings with you anytime you ask will follow. I'm not saying that the ultimate goal is to eat dessert nacho's with your pals 24/7 (well I mean thats my goal but whatever) but I am saying that you should find what makes you happy and the friendships that will last forever will come with that. "Friendship with oneself is all-important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world."- Eleanor Roosevelt.