When someone tells you that you will meet life long friends in college, they aren't lying. These are the friends who instantly become your family at your home away from home for this four year chapter of your life. While you may miss mom and dad for those four months before Christmas break, in those four weeks at home you'll miss your college friends even more.

When freshman year came I wasn't worried about missing my parents because they were a 20 minute drive away. What I worried about the most was missing my friends from high school. I came to LeMoyne with a group of kids who I graduated with, but I lost my best friend to a different college hours away. Without her I felt lost. The group of kids who I came to college with weren't the same kids who they were in high school and, eventually, neither was I. This was my first encounter with separation anxiety. I had to leave my comfort zone to make new friends and it has been the best decision of my life.

When I struggled mentally and emotionally through sophomore year, my roommate was the best person who I could have asked for. It had to have been a miracle that we meet the year before because she, along with this new group of friends that I made, kept me going. 4 months later Christmas break came along and the separation anxiety set right back in. While I was about 5 hours away from her, phone calls and texts made it seem like she never left.

Now that I'm in my junior year and commuting from home, my separation anxiety from my college friends is back again. While I would see them every day during the semester, at some point I'd have to drive back home for the night.

There are two people in particular who I spend almost every day with during the semester and, while they are both from the Syracuse area like I am, it feels like they are hours away. These two people are my family.

Starting with the first day of freshman year and October of sophomore year, they became my brother and sister and it just doesn't feel the same when I don't get to see them every day. They have been an intricate part of helping me become who I am today.

Here comes the hard part--the part where the separation anxiety is unbearable. The long distance from the most influential family members who I have is killing me. These are the P.O.W.E.R. board members. I spend every Monday with them, whether it's at a general meeting, board meeting, or in the library.

Each member is an important member of my family, varying from impromptu mothers, sisters, and that one auntie who embarrasses you at holidays. While we are all miles away from each other, I know that we will soon be together again.

Each one of these moments of separation anxiety has taught me something that I wish that I had known before. If you told me 3 years ago that I would miss my college friends as much as I do right now, I wouldn't have believed you. I wish that I did.