Dear First College Friends,
Thank you for looking beyond the awkwardness of the first few weeks of school to reach out to me. Knowing that someone else was in the same boat those first few weeks was one of the many things that kept me sane in my transition to college. I know that we all missed the friends we left at home and that we weren't sure if we would find any friendships remotely similar to those. But I am so glad that I found you all.
By now, you have known me through all the good parts and not-so-pretty parts of my first semester of college. And you're all still here! That is something I do not take for granted. Thank you for comforting me when I cry from the stress of college or laughing with me until our abs hurt. I don't know what I would do without you.
I would not trade those late nights spent doing impossible homework for the world. Thank you for being my late night tutors. I also will always remember the times spent staying up late watching movies and hundreds of YouTube videos while laying on the floor together laughing. Those nights are some of our strongest bonding moments. I will never forget the first night of college when we clicked right away and when we all bonded over our pre-semester kayak trip. Or the first time that we met when I walked into my dorm room to find that I had one of the best roommates I could ask for. Or that one biology session where I met the rest of you. I am forever grateful for all those moments.
Thank you for making sure I don't freak out over the small things. Thanks to you, I have made myself believe that one bad grade will not kill me and that not finding a significant other within the first semester is 100% okay. Thank you for running across campus with me when I was craving those fries dipped in a vanilla milkshake and for cuddling in bed with me after a hard day or when I am just too tired to go back up to my own room. Thank you for being my rock.
Thank you for being my support system while I'm away from home. When I left for college this past summer I was not sure I would find people to care for me like family. But I have found a second family through all of you that I am eternally thankful for. Thank you for welcoming me into your homes, dorm rooms and lives. I can honestly say that I have found a second family away from home. Thank you for making college a place that is hard to leave because of the sadness of leaving you all.
I will always cherish the car rides to Walmart with the music blaring, the trips to visit each other during breaks, the late night conversations when it is far too late to be awake, the countless dinners and even watching the presidential election curled up in balls on the bed together.
I could not imagine college without you and I hope never to have to. I love you all like family and am so happy to have met you. Know that you will always have a friend in me and that you will always have a special place in my heart no matter what happens.
