Dear College Friends,
Before entering college, I was used to being around the same people. I had been at the same school for 13 years, and while I'd met some new friends along the way, entering college was a brand new experience for me. Aside from maybe when I was 5, I had never been around so many new faces, all eager to learn and make new friends as well. Starting in April, some people set up meet-ups for us to get to know each other, and I took advantage of every one. Each weekend I would head downtown to meet the people who could potentially end up being my roommate(s), classmates, and best friends. Had I known then that some of the "Purchase Peeps" would end up being all of those things, I don't think I would have been able to hide my joy and excitement.
Orientation came in July, and yet again I couldn't wait to meet dozens of other new people, some who shared my major, some who listened to the same music, and others who were just as nervous as me. One of the great things about college is that for the most part, no one knows each other, or if they do, it's not usually that well. We are all looking to become our true selves and more importantly, we all want to be here at Purchase. We are all passionate, creative, kind individuals who are looking to embark on the journey of a lifetime. They say that the people you meet at orientation could end up being your best friends, and while I don't think that's necessarily true, at a small school, we still recognize each other and wave, even if we can't remember a name.
Summer had barely begun before it was time to move into college, and I had already spent hours and days talking to anyone who would listen about how much I couldn't wait to be there. I was feeling pretty good about myself because I knew a solid amount of people and figured we would all hang out when we got to college. For some that was the case, and there are people I met in April that I know will be my closest friends. At the same time, college is a brand new experience and we all react differently, so it didn't take long before the familiar April faces were no longer seen, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
If there's one thing I learned about college, friends come in the most unlikely of places, whether it be from waiting in line to get food, dancing at The Stood (for the non Purch kids: the place where a majority of our club sponsered parties are held), or sitting behind someone in a class. For me, I met my best friends when a girl moved in next door. I live in a suite and love everyone there, but when two girls moved out and another moved in, it was all a sudden change. We didn't really know how to react at first, but it didn't take long before the girl who moved in brought her friends who quickly became my friends.
There's something magical about how fast connections are made, and how you "just know" these will be the people I spend my life with. High school friends, as I've learned, are completely different from college friends. A key difference is that we are taught to attend high school to get into college, so we're all just there until we leave. We have a great time, but it feels temporary. At college, on the other hand, we all want to be here. We chose this place and are paying for this place, so we're going to do everything we can to make the most of it. Whether it's watching a movie on a Friday night or taking a walk through the woods at 2:00 A.M., we are living it up.
As mentioned earlier, I live in a suite, and one of the biggest perks is the common area. Having a shared space has been one of the best things that could happen because at the end of a long day or week, we can all come together to vent. Even if we just sit there thinking about the pending weekend and stressful week, we sit together. To those of us who actually live in the suite, we take pride in knowing that it's a safe space. The door is always open to anyone who's having roommate troubles and needs a quiet space, those who need a cry, and those who simply want to hang out and have a good time. Our suite has gone from a simple room to a home, and we all know it. The "honorary members" on our door might as well live there, and even those whose names aren't on the door know it's always open. In conversation it's referred to as home, and I walk in excited to see who's sitting on our couch next. It's a place of comfort and love, and even if it wasn't there, it's not the room that brings us together, it's us who make the room a home.
To the people I've met in the past 4 weeks to 6 months, and you know who you are, I love you dearly. Whether you major in Theater, Playwriting and Screenwriting, are Undeclared, or are simply something in between, we all have some type of connection. Whether we grab lunch every day, go to NERF Club twice a week, or run into each other randomly after class, I appreciate each and every one of you. In a class of 1000 people, it's almost impossible to get to know everyone, but to the ones I do know, even if we don't talk as much as we did months ago, you are always my friend and always in my heart.
With infinite love,
Maya, the Psych major in an Arts School and the girl from that decorated door on the second floor of Crossroads (C-Side for the win!)
