We all thought leaving our high school best friends would be the hardest part about college, and admittedly, I still have a great many friends from back home whom I'm still very close with. However, making friends in college is so much different from making high school friends.

1. You can pick your college friends. These aren't just people you see 5 days a week that you're kind of forced to be around. You may not even make friends with people your classes, but maybe people in your major, your dorm, organizations, sorority/fraternity, or sport. Basically, you can pick your friends.You find people who share your interests.

2. You're always close to your college friends. You all live within walking distance of each other, or if you're lucky, you may even live on the same floor of your dorm/apartment.

3. College friends are cooler. They're always down to hit up Sheetz at 5am, have study dates, nap times, and drive around aimlessly at night.

4. You can't hide much from them. After class was over in high school, you went home and did whatever. Because you live so close together, you see your friends more often. You all become so close that you start to notice EVERYTHING. There is nothing to hide, and you probably shouldn't hide anything from them anyway.

5. College friends come from everywhere. You get to learn about life from a whole other perspective. I met people from Florida, New York, California, and Canada (just to name a few). It's so interesting to see these people adapt to the West Virginia life.

6. College friends are like cooler parents. Need a ride to target? Someone to force you to do your homework? Don't know how to do laundry? Your college friends have you covered.

7. College friends are for life. The friends you make here are people that you have wholeheartedly chosen to be around, and have wholeheartedly chosen to be around you. The bonds we make here are bonds for life.