I remember, just before high school graduation, so many people asked me how I felt about college. Was I nervous? Was I excited? And my answer always revolved around the same idea: I couldn’t wait, but I didn’t want to lose all of my amazing friends here. To this, I received a variety of responses from, “You won’t, you guys are all so close!” to, “Don’t worry about that, at college, you’ll find your forever friends.”
Those words resonated with me for the rest of my senior year, throughout the summer, and until I met my first friend at college. What did they mean by “forever friends?” That couldn’t possibly be a real thing; friends come and go. Besides, I wouldn’t need to make any new friends, I thought, I had all of my high school friends within a two-hour radius.
At the same time, I fantasized about what kinds of people I would meet at school. Friends who would watch Netflix with me in my dorm, do each other’s makeup before going out, those who would study with me in the library, stand next to me at graduation, or be a bridesmaid in my wedding. A part of me was excited to meet these people that would leave such a lasting influence in my life, but I just had a hard time believing that they could actually exist and that they wouldn’t replace my high school friends.
Reality came after meeting my first friends, here. Of course, it was awkward, as every first experience tends to be, but soon it became so comfortable. I started finding myself feeling like I had known these people for years when in reality it had only been a semester. And although our friend group changed many times in the first few weeks, as we settled in and developed a good dynamic, in the end, the people who I felt the most at home with have remained an essential part of my college experience.
I never anticipated that I would be able to become such close friends with near strangers who became like family. I never knew that I could love and trust people so soon. I never knew what it meant to have a “forever friend.” And although I’m only a freshman, and I have so many more things to do, and countless other people to meet, I can honestly say that I’ve found a few forever friends already. And I’m so excited to share my college experience, and the rest of my life, with them.
