As students transition from high school to college, they are constantly reminded to “close the yearbook.” Make new friends, find new success and move on.
When you’ve lived in the same relatively small town for your entire life, though, moving on is much easier said than done. Most of my high school classmates attend the same university as I do, most of those people went to my middle school and some of them have been in classes with me since kindergarten. It can be overwhelming to find yourself surrounded by an almost entirely new group of people in college. You join a Greek house or some clubs, you meet new people in your classes and you want to be immersed in these new social circles, completely disconnected from the past. None of these people care if you had the lead in every musical, played varsity basketball for three years or spent all of your time in the library. This is the first page of an unwritten manuscript; it’s time to become a new person.
Now well into my sophomore year, I’ve realized that while college is the perfect place to meet new people and try something different, moving on does not mean you have to give up on the people who have always been there for you.
The friends you make in college can be incredible: they are new and exciting, oblivious to any drama you may have caused in the past and offer a fresh perspective on the world. What they can’t always do, however, is be the comforting voice of reason we all need every once in awhile. When you spontaneously burst into tears for seemingly no reason, who knows to come pick you up and take you to get a strawberry limeade at Sonic? When school is getting too stressful, who pulls out the brace-faced pictures from seventh grade to make you laugh and remind you that at least you don’t look quite as horrid now as you did then.
Anyone who stood by your side through the excruciatingly awkward years of middle school deserves a trophy and a lifetime of friendship. The people who know you best are the ones in the selfies you took on your camera phone at a sleepover during which you watched “Mean Girls,” had a deep discussion about the boys of “Twilight” and thought you were cool because you snuck out of the house. To play on the swing set in your backyard. At 11 p.m. Wow, so rebellious.
If they didn’t give up on you when you thought a pink clip-in hair extension was a good idea, they aren’t going anywhere now.
Even if you don’t have classes together or you live on opposite sides of town and have gone weeks without seeing each other, nothing feels better than reuniting with the people who know what you’re trying to say even when you can’t seem to form a coherent sentence. You can talk over each other and still fully understand the conversation. They can make you laugh even in the most serious of situations. You have been there for each other through the highs and lows, and though time may try to pull you apart, they will always be your people.
Everyone grows up, and eventually, you have to leave your childhood behind. Put away the National Honors Society certificate and the show choir medals and stop telling everyone how popular you used to be. Talk to the person sitting next to you in psychology class, order pizza late at night with the girls on your floor and be open to new experiences. Whatever you do, though, remember not to let go of the people you love.
It’s okay to crack the yearbook open a little bit.
