There is no doubt that the first year of college is one of the most challenging for many students. With so many changes and harder classes, you’re tested every day. In the meantime, you meet people who are there by your side, going through the same thing. These people who become your friends are one of the reasons you keep your sanity from August through May. For me, my best friends from high school were still a big part of my life, and I was happy for all of us to be going on this journey, even though we weren’t doing it together. I am thankful for the friends my friends made, and for the people who gave them happiness during their lowest days when I couldn’t be there. So here is a thank you to the friends my friends made in college.
Thank you for listening to them at 2 a.m. I know that when things got hard they might have felt completely lost, but you were there for them. Whether they were crying over a boy or stressed over their classes, they had you to turn to because you would be there in a second. Of course, I heard about their situations the next day, but you were with them as it was happening. I’m grateful that these people I care so much about had a person like you to turn to when I couldn’t.
Thank you for making good decisions for them when they couldn’t. When you’re out at a party, and she had the urge to text her ex, you were there to tell her no. When she felt hopeless and wanted to give up, you were there to tell her to keep pushing herself harder. Sometimes when we’re caught up in our emotions, we need a friend to guide us through it and to help us make the better choice for us. She can text me and tell me she’s having a hard time getting her assignments done, but you’re the person who’s physically there to tell her that and make sure she does it.
Thank you for making them feel at home. Getting dropped off in a big place with no friends the first week is utterly terrifying, and you feel so lost. But, because she met you, she didn’t feel like that anymore. You are the friends she was able to feel comfortable around and to tell everything to, and that made her transition to college easier. A Skype or FaceTime call from me once a week was just not enough to feel at home, and it could’ve made her feel farther away from home. You are the friends she got to know really well, and to show her true colors.
Thank you for listening to stories about their friends from back home. We all do this because you spent so much time with the people from back home, whether you still talk to them or not. I know you probably felt left out, or slightly annoyed at hearing the same story for the 50th time, but you listened no matter what. When you finally got to meet these friends from back home, thank you for making us feel so welcomed and like we had known you for years. You basically have, because of all the stories you’ve heard, but thank you for being so inviting.
There is an infinite number of reasons to appreciate the friends your friends have made away at college, but the most important one is for taking care of them when you couldn’t. Being away from the people you care about the most is really tough, but knowing they are in a good group of friends makes things easier. So thank you for everything you have done, and everything you will do in the future.
