To the friends I made in my freshman year,

Before I came to college, I had the worry that every student does; I worried that I would be alone every weekend, have to eat every meal by myself, and just be miserable. I’m an introverted person and I worried that I wouldn’t be able to start conversation with people who I found interesting. But you all were a pleasant surprise.

This goes out to all the new friends I made, those of you that I live with, those of you who live down the hall, the friends I made in class, my pledge class, and everyone else who I've gotten to become friends with.

It was surprisingly easy to become friends with you all. We had some adventures very early on in the year and we became friends very quickly. I have great memories of adventures even back in August and September, including late-night trips to Wal-Mart, movie viewings, nights of staying up way too late playing video games, games of hide and seek and Cards Against Humanity. Before I knew it, one or two new friends grew to be around ten. I had ten new people who I could send a text before I went to the cafeteria, or make plans to watch movies with on a Friday night.

You helped me break out of my shell and made me a more confident person. Like I said before, I am an introverted person, so making new friends hasn’t always been easy for me. But, each and every one of you showed me that everyone is a cool person. I’ve made friends with the theater and art people that I thought that I was too cool to hang out with in high school, the athletes, and the people like me who really aren’t either one. I have made friends with a lot of new people because of my friendship with you. I see that everyone is a cool person in their own way and I can find something in common with a lot of people. Because of you, I’m not longer the shy, awkward kid who’s too afraid to ask someone to go get food or go to WalMart with me.

You’ve showed me that keeping friends is just as difficult as making them. As big as my friend group has gotten, I’ve grown apart from people who I spent a lot of time with in the first semester, or people have come and go for their own reasons. We’ve all had fights and arguments between each other that have tested our friendship. But, I’m glad to say that we’ve stuck it out and are better friends because of it.

Thank you for supporting me when I needed it. I have gone through some tough times in my freshman year, just like everyone else. Whether it was stressing about a test or just life issues in general, you’ve been there to support me when I needed. I would be a lot worse for the wear if it weren’t for all of you. I know that if I have a problem in the future, I can lean on you to support me.

I’ll still be here for you throughout the next three years. The sad truth about college is that you won’t be able to spend as much time with the friends you made in your freshman year throughout the next three years. Despite this harsh fact, I’m still going to try my best to be friends with all of you, even if we can’t see each other as frequently. I’ll still be your friend, I just may not be as close or as available as I was this year.

Above all, I’d like to say, thank you. Through this first year of college, I have taken leaps and bounds down the path to becoming the person I want to be when I graduate and I couldn’t have taken those big steps if it weren’t for all of you. Thank you for all the memories, the late night adventures and antics, the constant movie quotes, the deep conversations about life, and all the stupid inside jokes we’ve made with each other. Here’s to hoping there’s a lot more to make. As our freshman year comes to an end, I can look back and say that these few short months that I’ve spent with you have been some of the best of my life, and I have you to thank for that. The fact that I have to spend a summer away from you all makes me sad, but I look forward to the next three years and hope that our friendships will stay strong, and possibly add some new people.