Two weekends ago, Xavier celebrated family weekend: a joyous occasion of going out and being up at 8 a.m. the next morning to see the fam. Obviously joking, because it has been, thus far, one of the best weekends of my college experience.

I think it’s important that I explain my definition of family for this article, especially because the size of my family grew significantly throughout the weekend. Not only did I have my immediate family there to enjoy the lovely Xavier campus, but I also got to meet the people who had such significance on the close friends I had created relationships with already.

I decided a huge dinner with our friend group and everyone’s family would be the best way to get to know one another, and I could not have been more right. If you want to get to know someone at the deepest level, witness them with their families. The dinner lasted two and a half hours, ignoring the fact our waiter did not come back to take our order, but I like to believe the sole factor of the long dinner was the enjoyment of the people surrounding me. The conversation, laughter, and learning about each other’s different lives never ceased, and the common factor of close friendship started the relationships off with a strong bond.

However, it was not specifically the dinner that gave me the family feeling. As cliché as some might take it, and some might disagree, faith seemed to play a role in my new extended family. We all brought our families to mass the next morning and filled two pews completely. I’ll admit, it was not paying attention during the homily, or kneeling and praying after communion where I felt the closest to God. Rather, as I was sitting in those filled pews before mass, surrounded by constant chatter and laughter I was almost brought to tears. The few people I had become extremely close with in the beginning months had become my family, and I felt as though there could not be a place I felt more at home. This feeling of home and acceptance is something everyone gets at a different time, and sometimes, not at all. How blessed am I to have the feeling of belonging to a family such as this within my first months of college.

My reasoning for writing this article is not to brag about the friends I have made, or the family that grew so large two weekends ago (although I’m sure they’d agree I have full rights to brag about them), but with the hope that I have not been the only person to experience this feeling of love towards my friends and their families. I think the biggest piece of advice that I can give to anyone going through their college years is to build relationships, not just with the people you meet, but with their families as well. Because if you think you love your friends now, I guarantee the strength of your relationships will triple when you have the ability to build a relationship with their family as well.

Here’s to you, fam. I’m so blessed to have your presence in my life and so unbelievably blessed to have met each and every single one of you.