While at first I was set on going to school in Connecticut, I ended up staying in New York at St. John’s University only 20 minutes away from home where I would be labeled as a commuter. This terrified me because it meant all of the cliché Instagram’s I planned on posting accompanied by corny captions with my roommate, new friend group, and foreign rural surroundings wouldn’t exist and I would never get the “college experience” that I envisioned all my life. However despite this, with the belief that everything happens for a reason I looked at all of the positives and hoped that this was for the better.

When I went to my orientation session for St. John’s, I was surrounded by students from all over the country who planned on dorming and commuting, but this still didn’t ease the anxiety that accompanied the thought of missing out on friendships and experiences because I lived at home.

Throughout the day, we mingled with those in our orientation group to find out where we were from, our majors and other fun facts deriving from the dreaded icebreakers. Being obsessed with festivals and celebrities, when I heard someone in my group from California talking about how she met Gigi Hadid at Coachella I was convinced that we would click but didn’t want to jinx anything.

Six months later from that orientation date, we now run a food Instagram account together and if that doesn’t define friendship then I’m not sure what does. You’ve proven to me that everything does, in fact, happen for a reason and made my time at St. John’s memorable in ways I never imagined possible as a commuter.

Whether you go away or commute, your first friend at college is someone who’s going to accompany you on the emotional roller coaster ride that you can never really prepare for. College means a new environment, new responsibilities, new people, and new freedoms that all take time adjusting to.

Having someone there to go through the many trials and errors of life as you struggle to figure out the right things to say and do while balancing your social life with your studies is easier said than done.

With you to vent to and make big plans for our weekends, transitioning into this new lifestyle wasn’t scary anymore.

Before meeting you, I would feel alone during a night at home studying while watching snapchats of other people partying every night feeling my life wasn’t “so college” enough. You ensured that we would make up for it the next weekend or the next day and you always made it happen.

Before meeting you, I was scared to travel far from home meaning going abroad for a semester was the last thing on my to do list. After hearing about your trips to Bora Bora, Paris, and Santorini, I would want nothing more to go around the world with you which we now plan on doing next spring as we study abroad together. Thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone.

Before meeting you, I was scared to take pictures of my food in public feeling everyone was judging me. Thankfully you’re a foodie like me so trying new restaurants with pretty and delicious food is now a weekly mission of ours. I promise that one-day glamorous grub (our food Instagram account) will blow up.

Before meeting you, I was scared I would be that girl sitting by herself on campus with her headphones in trying to pretend I’m busy because I didn’t have a dorm to wind down in during my breaks. Now getting ready for nights out together in your dorm and taking a break from long days to complain about the weather and our classes is the usual.

Whether it’s laughing at ourselves as we think about all the things we did during our night out, figuring out where to eat next, sending each other outfits, sending each other links to Vines and Tweets, or teaching each other New York and California lingo, I’m glad that it all started with you and that it’s just the beginning.

So thank you for all of the advice on the big and small issues, the support, the memories, the spontaneous FaceTime's and for making my college experience what I always hoped it would be.

There are so many more concerts and festivals to attend, new places to visit, and more reasons why we think our lives would make a perfect reality show, so I can’t wait for what the future has in store.

I love you Maddog!