Dear New Friends,

One of my biggest fears coming into college last September was that I would spend a majority of my time alone in my room due to lack of friends. I was scared because the two friends I already knew coming into college already made friends because of how social they are. I can't even order my own sandwich at Subway, so introducing myself to someone new was out of the question. A lot of students I met during tours and orientations that already went here assured me that "You will make a friend, and then you'll meet their friends, and then their friends, etc." I didn't buy it, obviously they won't tell me "Yeah it's hard making friends, good luck with that." The two friends I already knew I only knew because they were my roommates so I was forced to talk to them to figure out who was buying the fridge.

The first day I moved here and had to go to an orientation, I just ran and sat in the first empty seat. It was next to a girl I met at another orientation we had to go to in the summer. We've never talked before, but I decided to try and introduce myself.

Once we started talking, she introduced me to some of her friends she had made already, then they introduced me to some people they just met. At the end of the day I had made a whole new group of friends. We all exchanged numbers and would text each other in the morning so we could walk to breakfast together and if we had classes together this semester, we could help each other with homework.

These were my first friends at college, and although I don't speak to all of them still, when I see them around the campus we still say hi to each other. These few people showed me that everyone is nervous making friends in college. Because of these few people I met my first week of college, I was able to make the friends I have kept throughout the entire year. So thank you to the group of people I first met when I moved here, whether we hang out with different people or transfer colleges, you're the reason I made friends this year. Thanks for giving me confidence!

Love,

Cassie