The first years of college are exciting, with being away from home and meeting new people. Most likely, in those first two years of college, you will have met great people and then sadly parted ways. But after your generals, you finally decide on a major, you get upper division standing, and you start to see the same people in your classes. Eventually, those same people start to talk to you, and bam, you become friends. Becoming friends with people within your major is one of the best memories you will experience in college.
For one, having class with a bunch of friends and people who actually know your name is definitely not bad. You go to class knowing who you are going to see. The next semester, you don't have to worry about not knowing people in class, because there will be someone in that 400 level class. My last four semesters, I have had at least five to eight people I knew in each class, which is so much better than seeing 100 faces you've never see before.
They understand you. When you are freaking out about not knowing the different parts of the skull or anything that pertains to your major, they just get you. They know your workload and don't think you are being a "baby" or don't want to hang out.
It is easy to plan adventures. Having friends with other majors can get tough sometimes. My best friends don't share the same major as me, and sometimes, our schedules don't match up. Especially when they have a huge test one week or several projects and you don't and plan on watching Netflix all weekend. People in your major generally have the same workload as you, unless they are motivated to take more classes and do things that you are not. Class gets cancelled and you automatically have plans, so Guru donuts and Dutch Bros it is.
They can honestly help you. People always say to me, "let me take a look at it" or "I might be able to help, I took a class similar a few years back"... yeah, no. They are not going to be much help to you. Yes, maybe they took something similar, but who's going to remember something from a few years back, or how are they going to know what the professor means if they have never taken that class? When in doubt, turn to your classmates, because when you have to memorize 25 different specimens and know where they are from and what traits make them unique, you need someone on the inside to help when you are about to explode.
Job talk is not so bad when it is with them, either. The field I chose does not necessarily have that many jobs, but when talking to them, they are in the same boat as me, trying to find a job post-graduation. They can help you think of other places to apply to that fit into your field, or understand when you talk about how fascinating a museum job would be.
After countless hours in the library and chatting in class, hopefully, you've made lifelong friends, like I have. I'm beyond glad I made friends in my department, I'm glad we've had many trips exploring around town, we've gone out together and celebrated the end of finals together. Overall, I love my friends outside of Anthropology, but I also love my friends in Anthropology.
