Hey fam. I know you probably laughed when you read that first line, especially because you know that I refer to you guys as “fam.” I mean, how could I not? We’ve spent nearly eight months together, living in close quarters, basically getting to know every small fact about each other. We even know some of our other family members from FaceTime calls, going to eat with them, or meeting them when they randomly came to visit. So, I would consider us a family, my second family, from all the time we’ve spent together.

I’ll never forget the first time I met you girls at our first floor dinner, which we were practically forced to go to. We added each other on Snapchat and found things in common instantly, making sure that we got to know each other better in the upcoming weeks. We then decided to go out together for the first time—what an experience. That whole night—walking up and down the streets of State College, party hopping, then ordering pokey sticks for the first time showed me that we would be friends for a long time. We had tons of events to look forward to together, like the football games, other forced floor dinners, or opportunities to go out on the weekends. Even small things like going to brunch on the weekends or grabbing food between classes allowed us to grow closer.

Now, the guys. I just wonder what you guys thought when us girls came downstairs and invaded your floor. I mean, we were just looking to make new friends and see if any of you were willing to get to know us too. It wasn’t until the end of the first semester, though, that we all started to hang out. It was almost natural for us to come downstairs to do work in the study room or just hang out together until one or two in the morning. The staying up late then carried over to winter break when we would stay up until nearly 5 a.m. on HouseParty. I guess that’s what we had to do to stay in touch while away from school for an extended amount of time. It only helped us become better friends, so I’m not complaining about the lack of sleep I got during that time.

Once the second semester started, I had a feeling that we would just be hanging out even more than we did first semester. We spent all our time on the first floor, having movie nights, ordering food, or doing work together (but actually talking instead). I had never felt closer to, or so comfortable around, such a different group of people. It surprised me that we were able to become such great friends in a short amount of time, but I guess that’s what living together does for you; you find the people that you don’t mind spending all your free time with because they’re only five seconds away from your room, which is the most convenient thing ever.

Everyone usually says that you won’t stay friends with the people you meet during the first weeks of school, but that clearly wasn’t the case for us. I’ve never been so grateful to have gone through my first year of college with a solid group of friends, always being there for each other, and always willing to hang out whenever. So, thank you for making living in a dorm bearable, and making freshman year as good as it was.