Friend. Acquaintance. Buddy. Bestie. Comrade. Associate. Peer.
“Friend” seems to be more abundant than any of its synonyms. Defining the word friend is almost impossible because it lies on a spectrum of descriptors for just about everyone that surrounds us in our everyday lives. There are friends that you have just met last week, or perhaps this morning. They seem really nice even though you don’t know them very well. There is that one friend that you see every once in awhile and say hi to, but they aren’t someone who you would spend your free time with. And then there are those people who you feel like you can be yourself around completely after spending the shortest of time together.
All of these people I would consider my friends, but it is extraordinarily difficult to pin down an exact definition for the term. However, it is safe to say that the trip to a college campus for a year reshapes the perception of one’s friends. Friends become everything from therapists to family. Certain friends are sure to always brighten your day with a big smile while others are lifelines for a good heart to heart. A new level of trust comes with the friends you meet in college. The difference: you live with them. Every college student is thrust into a situation in which they must open up to new people on a whim and learn to trust strangers almost completely.
A high caliber friendship is not just someone who you hang out with to have fun, but someone who knows how to deal with you at your worst. A college friend knows how you have fun and goes to great lengths to cheer you up, tell you to snap out of a bad attitude, or buy you pizza at odd hours of the night. A college friend can tell when something isn’t going great and isn’t afraid to ask you how you are doing until you answer truthfully. A college friend is something of a partnership in which both parties can rely on the other to be there in times of need.
A new type of family emerges in college. You have the “mom” friend who takes care of you when you’re sick, the “dad” friend who always teases you no matter the situation, the generous “rich distant relative” friend. You have the best friend you always stay up talking to instead of finishing homework. Sometimes, that friend is all rolled up into one person, sometimes a new person picks up a different role in your college experience. Either way, your college family is one who pushes, supports and loves you.
As I enter my second year and reconnect with my second family, I would like to say thank you to my school for providing a community in which I flourish. Thank you to my blood family for helping me get to where I’m at. And last, but definitely not least, thank you to the genuine, wonderful people I am so blessed to call my friends.
