Dear Future College Friends,

I haven't even met you yet. For some of you, I know your name. For some, we're Facebook friends and thus I know your political standings. For a handful, we've chatted through huge GroupMe chats. And for a few, we've tweeted each other, we snapchat, we text and we talk as though we're already BFFs.

I've lived in the same town for my entire life. Friendships have come and gone over the past 17 years, but for the most part, my solid friends have remained the same for quite some time. So, meeting you will be strange. I'm sure you have the same thoughts, though. "How do I make new friends from scratch?" or "I'm sure some people will already know each other, so what if I'm left without a group right away?" could be bouncing through your head. Don't worry, such questions have crossed my mind, too.

So I want to make you some promises.

First off, I promise to try my hardest not to compare you to my best friends from home. It will be hard to stop myself from thinking, "Well I know I could make this joke with my best friend of six years, but can I make it with you?" but I'll do my best. I'll make the joke and if you laugh, that's awesome. If not, well that's OK too. You're not my best friend from Maryland, and nobody else ever could be. That's the beauty of multiple friends.

Second, I know that everyone warns about how your immediate friend during orientation may not be your best friend by the end of the year. So I promise that if we hit it off wonderfully and then our friendship fizzles out, it wasn't on purpose. It just happened.

Third, we're in such similar boats. Now, I know I don't know everything about your life. But in general, we're both suddenly living somewhere new on our own. I'll support you if you support me too. Stressed? Come to my dorm and I'll make you a cup of tea and we can play with makeup or watch Netflix. I know how you feel, so I promise to be there for you.

We're going to be together for some of the most exciting years of our lives. So let's promise each other to enjoy them. I know that I can't wait to meet you, and I hope you feel the same!