Friends are important in a person's life. They provide support when you need it the most, advice when you find yourself in sticky situations, care when you're hunched over a toilet at 2 a.m. after a Friday night out, belly laughs when you've been crying and most importantly, unconditional love.
Leaving high school friends is hard when you each go your separate ways for college. Sometimes you get lucky if a few of you end up going to the same school, but for most of us, we pack our bags during the last months of summer and head down different paths. I think that was the hardest part of leaving for school, for me at least, leaving my best friends in the world. They're my entire life, and I miss them more than anything. That's okay because once the semester is over, we'll be back at it again!
Being here for almost a year now, my absolute favorite part of college has been the friends I've made over the span of about eight months. They've seen the best of me, and they've seen the worst of me. I'm sure they'd feel the same way if I were to ask. My girls have been there since move-in day, and no, I'm not just saying that because they're my roommates. My boys have stayed by my side for all hours of the night, listening to me complain about the smallest and pettiest things. I appreciate each and every one of them, and I may not show it as often as I should. I still love them all wholeheartedly.
Summer is coming up in the next few weeks, and it sucks that we'll all have to leave. We'll make sure to plan to see each other while we're all back home. Sure, weekends won't be the same, and there won't be weekly movie nights for a few months. You can still expect a plethora of texts, calls and Snapchats that are guaranteed to make you laugh.
It's funny when you hear about people who are older than we are, their friends from college and getting married, and it really makes you stop and think, "Some of you people will be either in or at my wedding." The thought of that is beyond exciting. Not only will you get to share your special day with the love of your life but also with the people that know your deepest, darkest secrets and that stuck with you all the way up until this day.
To my new best friends: Thank you for listening to my constant complaining and offering me the best advice even when I tell you I don't need your opinion- I do need it, so thank you. Thank you for, on the other end, keeping up with my ridiculous and pointless conversations that make zero sense that include an excessive number of jokes, sarcasm, and insults. Thank you for being the shoulder when a good cry was necessary and much needed. I know crying makes everyone uncomfortable so I understand that it was never easy to deal with that. Adding to that point, thank you for choosing me to be the person when YOU needed to release all of those emotions. Thank you for being a really good DJ and always playing the best music that I would end up asking about three days later. Thank you for being the best dance and karaoke partners. Thanks for being a killer pong partner, we crush it every time. Thank you being a nice pillow when we would stay up just a little too late at night. Thank you for never making me have to eat alone in the dining hall. Thank you for throwing a football or hitting a volleyball around in the quad when the weather was actually spring weather. Thank you for helping me figure my way around campus and showing me new places you happen to wander to yourself. Thank you for our Snapchat streaks. Thank you for making it possible to turn a bad day into a good one. Thank you for being an effective study partner/tutor. Thank you for sharing your food with me, I get hungry a lot (I'm actually eating as I write this). Thank you for sharing your clothes and shoes and jewelry and for helping me pick out which outfit to wear to make myself look presentable. Thank you for not getting angry with me when I take 150 pictures on your phone when you're not looking. Thank you making me laugh and thank you for putting a smile on my face each and every day.
But most importantly, thank you for coming into my life and being my closest friends since I've moved away from home. Again, I may not show it or tell you how much you mean to me as much as I should but please just know that I love you all and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us in years to come!
