My high school graduating class was made up of 46 people. We may not have all been friends, but we all knew each other. Our classes were very intimate and each of us had a personal relationship with our teachers, which had it’s pros and cons. (It was mostly good though, I love all of my past teachers). Making friends was a breeze for me. I hit the jackpot by joining drama class, we all bonded over our love of the theater and hatred of athletics; there were about seven of us.
And believe it or not, like any school, we had cliques; although, our cliques ended up meshing together at some points. Going through high school with so few people made my experience more memorable, I think. I like that I will be able to go through my high school yearbooks and know every person in my class (and pretty much every other class as well). High school was a cozy, tiny box filled with only about 250 people in all.
As you may imagine, college was a bit of shock for the first couple of weeks. My first government class had 300 people. That was more the entire population of my high school. Even the smaller classes had at least 40 people. I spent the first few weeks feeling lonely and lost. I thought that it would be impossible to make friends in the large numbers. I figured I would go through the rest of my college career hanging out with my boyfriend and mooching off of his mock trial friends. (Who are lovely people and I still enjoy their company). However, as soon as I made my first friend in college algebra, I gained a new confidence that I hadn’t felt before. I was capable of making friends! In high school, it was nearly impossible to not have friends because you were with essentially the same exact people throughout the week.
As I started to shake off the culture shock, I found comfort in the large numbers. I liked that I wouldn’t have to speak in class as much. I liked that there were literally thousands of people to become friends with. While the large crowds can feel lonely at times, I know I’m not the only person who feels that way. I may not know everyone’s names and life stories, but I am definitely all right with that. The large population at school holds mystery and surprises. I could meet a new person every day for the rest of my college career. Not that I really want to, because I am very happy with my group of friends, but I like that it’s a possibility.
Going from a school with a population of 300 to university with thousands of people requires plenty of getting used to. I started by thinking of the swarming crowds in fear, to finding comfort in the numbers. I found that making friends was easier than I had thought, and as I find myself in classes that pertain to my major, the classes get smaller and smaller. I am content with myself that I am able to operate in large crowds and small groups.
So to all of you small-town high schoolers going into big universities, you can do it! You’ll meet people you don’t like, and you’ll meet people that you do like. But the great thing is that there are plenty of possibilities.
