Thinking about going to a school miles and miles away from home frightened me. I wasn't ready to leave my family and friends behind, I didn't even know how to be an adult! I had to mentally prepare myself for goodbyes and I wasn't so sure I could survive on my own. I would have not lasted the first semester without the help of the best friends I've made at Belmont University.

I did not expect to meet a new family my first semester of college. Having close friends can truly make a huge impact on your college experience. My biggest struggle going into school was realizing I had to open up and talk to strangers, I wasn't a people person. I knew I needed to step outside of my comfort zone in order to make new friends. I started with the girls on my floor, specifically the girls across my dorm. We would have random conversations and connected over the fact of how weary we were with starting college. We were all so frighten with the whole idea of being independent, and that is how we became best friends.

In order to make exceptional friends, you have to find people you can connect with the most. It’s very intimidating starting all over and building trust with complete strangers. We are all weary of opening up to the wrong crowd, so some of us end up closing ourselves off which ends up hurting ourselves. If you are having problems with finding your people, do not be afraid. You have to learn to open your heart up and accept people in you were never used to back home. It is completely alright to find friends who are nothing like your friends back home. Different can sometimes be better than what is similar to your heart. If you are having trouble starting conversations with a certain person, ask them how they feel about college so far! You may end up bonding over the concept of how lost you both are, and that is completely fine! Then ask them about their home and family, you never know the outcome that comes with a simple conversation. Step outside your comfort zone and meet new people, you may end up meeting your new family!

After bonding with the girls on my dorm, I met their friends and started connecting with them! Next thing I knew, we were all inseparable. One day we were all complete strangers, then the next day we were all best friends. Everything happened in a blur, and I will forever be grateful to have them in my life. Having an inseparable group of friends is very important because they can help you feel at home, when home is hundreds of miles away. We learned from each other and grew up together in these past couple of months. I am fortunate for the midnight memories, late night drives to fast food restaurants, ice cream trips, road trips, late night study sessions, movie nights, home visits, loud obnoxious laughs, the happy tears, and most importantly: I am grateful for them. Therefore, thank you college for introducing me to my people, to the ones I love the most at Belmont, and the ones who make me not feel alone.