We are busy people. We have a lot on our plate at all times. We have meetings for Greek life, required outside organizatons, community service, classes, and hiking to and from the dining halls. Meeting friends is easy. There is the social circle that takes over the floor lounge every night 10pm-2am everynight. There are the elevators also known as friendship dungeons. There's socials specially organized to make friends. There's the dining halls where you sit with that one girl you kinda know because all the tables are taken, and you meet her whole group of friends too. College is social if anything. There are a lot of places to meet friends, but there are also not a lot of ways to fulfill them.

I have made it my goal to build intentional friendships that go deeper than standing in the hibachi line at Ohouse. However, to build these friendships, you have to pour into them, and you cannot pour into the world around you if you are empty on your own. I believe in foundational friendships. These are the ones that serve as your structure- supporting you through everything. These are the people that hold you up and keep you still regardless of storms. Being foundational means you are so firm in friendship, it cannot be shaken. Be built upon this base.

This isn't high school. Thank the Lord. High school is a place where you are forced into friendships through assigned seating. You see everyone everyday, so you are required to maintain good relations. In college, you don't start conversations on your last test grade anymore. Friendships require effort, require work, require intentional encounters. They have to mean something. They have to matter. I graduated feeling completely alone, but within my first few weeks of UGA, I learned what it was like to feel the opposite.

Be Brave. I have met some of my favorite people in dining hall lines and elevators. Being unashamed to introduce yourself in a crowded room allows you to meet everyone in it. Being brave in college is talking to whoever sits next to you in Econ even when it isn't socially acceptable to start a conversation.

Be Thoughtful. Venmo your best friend on their exam day. Send them a good luck text before their interview time. Take time to think about how you can care for your friends. The people who take time out of their lives to focus on how you're doing in yours are the people you need forever.

Be Intentional. Hold people close regardless of circumstances. Make plans to see each other even when you're no longer running into them on the hall on your way to the showers. Watch out for the people who make time for you even when it doesn't fit their natural schedule.

Be Joyful. Be so full of light it overflows into everyone you know. My friends bring so much happiness into my life that it lights up my life. Look for the people who act like sunshine. Be one of the people that embodies it. Pay attention to the way people make you feel.

Be Vulnerable. Be transparent because now no one cares for the facade. People don't care who you were in high school; they care who you are as a person. Be open because digging deep with friends is the only way to find the gold. Find the people that want you to share everything and love every piece of it.

Let me tell you about my friends. My friends are the type of people that love unconditionally. I have friends who cry with me on amazon ordered futons when it's been a rough 24 hours. My friends will lay with me listening to me rant and cry over whatever is on my mind like it's their job. I have friends that text me they miss me when it's been 6 hours since i've seen them. I have friends that make time to hangout with me and see me even when I don't see them on daily trips to brush my teeth. I have friends that all squeeze into my jetta to drive to church on Sunday mornings even if they went out the night before. I have friends that walk with me to bible study or freshley and remind me how important it is to have those in my life. My friends push me to be the best version of myself. They read all my articles on Odyssey even the ones I rushed through before the dead line. They hype me up for every single word I post. They went crazy over my Grady acceptance. They celebrate when I celebrate. They cry when I cry. They laugh when I laugh. I have met friends here that make my life better.

After years of hating every aspect of high school, of failed friendships, and sweet and low level relationships, I found my people. I have never felt more loved, more appreciated, or felt more joy. I spent years being sad over people who didn't reall care. Now, at the University of Georgia, I have found the people I admire most. My friends make me better and are who I want to be. They are caring. They are thoughtful. They are intentional. They are joyful. They are vulnerable. They have made me love every part of my life here. Most of these people are in my dorm, my hall, and my sorority. My friends are stars: even when you can't see them, even in your dark times, they are always there. Next year when i'm not in the dorms or their classes next semester, I know nothing will change. Even with graduation a short four years away, I know these are the friends of a lifetime. No cap and gown or relocation or change of class schedule will change my love for my friends or my involvement in their lives. And having confidence in that is the best thing I could have ever asked for.

Thank you friends for all you have done in my life since August. I love you.