Think back to when you graduated high school; it was the season of bittersweet goodbyes and new beginnings. Some dreaded the end of high school because it meant that it was time to grow up and move away from the friends you’ve known your entire life while others counted down the days until it was time to walk across the stage and never look back. Come summertime when you attend a plethora of graduation parties, including hosting your own, and reality sets in – you are soon starting a completely new life hundreds of miles away from the only life you’ve ever known. Your friends and family can see the panic in your eyes and they tell you what you’ve always heard, “the friends you make in college are going to be your friends for life.” Somewhere in that short and sweet phrase, you found comfort in knowing that you would never be alone in both the overwhelmingly large campus that will become your new home and for the countless years beyond. How much truth is actually in those words, though?
The friends you will see the most in college are your roommates. If you really think about the concept of dorms and your overall living situation in college, you’ll find just how random it really is. Assuming that you aren’t living with a friend from high school, you’ll likely end up with a random person whom you’ve never met or even heard of, not to mention the addition of a few more strangers if you live in a suite-style dorm. With today’s technology, our generation is lucky enough to be able to connect with our new family-away-from-home in the blink of an eye. After stalking them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (you know we all do it), you’ll feel like you’ve known your new friends forever by the time the new school year rolls around.
The first month or two goes by without any issues as you are all adjusting to college life and exploring the new town you live in together. Some are lucky enough to hold true to making these friends for life in the first year of college; however, the majority may not be so lucky because, let’s be honest, living in close quarters with people your age 24/7 may not be the most fun thing sometimes. You may eventually find, for example, that your personality clashes with your roommates – maybe you are more of a realist while one of your roommates is overly peppy about every little thing. Other small things might begin to annoy you, too. Your roommate who said that she was a little bit messy may start letting it get out of control, and your OCD mind might slowly begin to go crazy. You could start getting fed up with being the only responsible one, who is always doing the cleaning and staying up all hours of the night sobering up your drunken roommates. The act gets old, and you could begin to find that they are just not the right type of people for you, and that’s okay.
No one expected you to become besties with complete strangers. It’s okay to end the school year not wanting to continue your friendship with people who you don’t feel comfortable letting in to your life. If the rest of them decide to still buddy up and leave you out because you have your head on right, knowing where your priorities in college lie, that’s okay too. The first year isn’t always meant to be the best year. Were there some incredible moments that you will remember for the rest of your life? Without a doubt. Just keep in mind that the first year is the year that you grow and change the most – you become more independent and responsible, but it is also a year of adjustments. You have three more years to find your true friends and the crowd that is right for you. Go ahead, join clubs, talk to people in your classes more, and take a chance. Not everyone you come into contact with will be the best fit for you, and that’s okay. College goes by fast – make the most of it.
