Being a first-time college student is a huge change. You’re moving into a new place where you don’t know anyone. It’s like starting over in a new town. There’s a lot of excitement involved in moving into college. You can finally break free from your high school stereotype and rebuild your image, you can explore all life has to offer, and you have an opportunity to find yourself on your own. However, a lot of teenagers find this more terrifying than exciting. But what they don’t realize is they don’t have to go through these changes alone.

The best part about college is all the new friends you get to make along the way. These aren’t people you’ve gone to school with since you were five. They haven’t known you since the days where you wore your light-up Sketchers and carried your favorite superhero backpack. All they know is who you choose to be when you’re around them. And if you just take a chance and open them up to the real you, you can find some pretty amazing people.

To my new friends I’ve made in college, thank you for making the transition from a small high school to a big university so easy. Change isn’t always easy, but I didn’t have to go through it alone because you were right there with me.

To my upperclassmen friends, thank you for guiding me through the beginning of college. You taught me how to live with change because you went through the same thing years prior. You were always eager and friendly. I knew from the first moments I met you that I wanted to be just like you guys as I went through college. You brought me into your group and because of that you’ve become more than role models; you’ve become friends I can come to with anything. You didn’t treat me as a “freshman.” You treated me as a person and I can’t thank you enough for that.

And to my friends that were experiencing the same first-year transition I was, I’m so glad we could go through this together. Neither of us knew what to expect when coming here, but that was the beauty of the situation. We experienced the failures and successes of college together during our first few months here. After officially settling in with friends and classes, we finally got to experience what the world of college was like. I’m so grateful we could have the first time experience together. I never thought when coming here.

To my best friend in college, I don’t think I could’ve gone through this without you. We were both experiencing college for the first time, and meeting you was the best thing that could’ve happened. Yes, our personalities are different sometimes, but in reality, you are the most perfect person I could’ve imagined meeting here. I don’t know what I would do without you to laugh with, be frustrated with, and adventure this new world with.