An Open Letter To My New College Friends

Dear new college friends,

It has been less than six months since we first met. Isn’t that crazy? It feels like I have known some of you my whole life. It’s amazing how quickly some of you became close friends as we began our four-year journey of newfound freedom.

The University of Texas is a big school, with more than 50,000 students. I was terrified I was going to get lost in the crowd, be one in so many swallowed in the masses. Coming from a high school school of 200, I felt overwhelmed at the expanse and sheer number of students in my classes. But you have all made the campus feel smaller, and made UT become a home with you guys, my newfound family. You helped me see the enormity of UT as an incredible opportunity to meet so many amazing people. Be it through my sorority, my dorm, Camp Texas, Plan II or a party, out of the 7,000 students on this campus, I met you. I am so thankful that I did.

You have been my support system the last few months, when every test felt like doomsday and every expectation I had for myself was too high. You are what made my transition smooth and my semester great. You help me get excited about college, feel accepted as I continue on my journey and know that I picked the right school.

Some of you I cannot begin to thank for being there for me through the roughest points of this last semester. In all the excitement and amazing new experiences of being a freshman student comes the low moments and loneliness that can be hard to swallow. You saw me through that: You made me feel safe and loved, and let me know I wasn’t alone. I hope that I have been that person for you too.

Thank you for watching Friends with me, thank you for going to parties with me, and thank you for ordering late night Cane’s and pizza with me.

Thank you for the laughs, thank you for the deep conversations, and thank you for the late nights when we didn’t want to go to sleep.

Thank you for accepting me, thank you for encouraging me, and thank you being there for me.

I could not have asked for a better first semester in college or better new friends to begin it with. I am so excited to spend the next three and a half years with you guys. The adventure is only beginning! I am so blessed that I got to start it with you, and I so look forward to continuing it with you.

With all my love,

Rachel