I’m a big believer in the saying, “Everything happens for a reason.” Even though it may take a while for us to figure out what that reason is, eventually we’ll see what God’s plan for us is. When getting ready for college this past summer, I had a lot of fears. Would I like my school? Would my roommate and I get along? Am I going to be able to handle the coursework? One of my fears though was that I’d lose contact with my friends. This fear kept me paralyzed at night and adding to my anxiety-ridden summer. I’ve now come to realize, one month into college, that the people who were meant to stay in my life are still present. It’s hard to admit to yourself that a friend could be a bad influence on you but sometimes we have friends that pressure us into making the wrong decisions. I now realize that I’m grateful that I have moved on and left my toxic friendships in the past. My ultimate advice for high school seniors who are already worried about leaving friends behind in a year is that if people want to stay in your life, they’ll find a way. If not, it’s better to leave them in the past. College is all about starting over and reinventing yourself and making new friends helps with that.

High school was not an easy time for me but the better friendships that I made are still standing. No one else from my graduating class attended my college so I had to start from scratch as far as making friends go. I’m incredibly grateful for the friendships that I’ve made so far in college. They’ve helped me through this period of transition in my life, even though we’ve only known each other for such a short period of time.

If any the friends that I’ve left behind ever read this, I want them to know a couple of things. Firstly, thank you for making my high school experience memorable. High school gave me enough memories to last a lifetime and thank you for being apart of that. Secondly, even though we may not be friends anymore, I wish you the best of luck with all of your future endeavors. We all deserve happiness and a fresh start and writing this isn’t supposed to be about dwelling in the past, it’s about learning lessons to help in the future. And finally, I hope that wherever life takes you, you will find what you’re looking for.