In my experience, coming back to college for my sophomore year has been met with feelings of great joy. Things are a lot different from my first year experience. Let me explain. I live in a new residence hall, have a new roommate, my friends aren’t down the hall anymore (instead they’re spread out over Whitman’s 117 acre campus), my classes are all new, I’m meeting new people, challenging myself in new ways, and it couldn’t be better.
My new room is spacious and inviting, my roommate is my best friend and always brightens my day, my classes are more catered toward my interests, and the professors are outstanding. It is slightly unfortunate that my friends aren’t as easily accessible as before, however walking through campus every day to make sure I see them makes me feel extremely happy because I realize how much I appreciate them, care about them, and genuinely enjoy being with them. Spending three months apart went by much faster than I had anticipated, and it was strange to not see them daily like I had for the previous nine months, but now we’re together again and it feels amazing. I know I’ve only been back for a week so far, but I can say with certainty that these people will be lifelong friends that make me appreciate life so much more than anything else.
The sight of them always puts a smile on my face. We talk about everything like we’ve known each other for years, and we’re already right back into our constant adventures. We’re helping each other with art projects, sitting around a room and talking all night, and we’re out in the wilderness making videos for fun. Of course we have to go to class too, and do our homework every night while also working a job, if not two or even three in some cases, but we all make time to go do these things together.
We’re only a week into the 2015-16 academic school year, but in that week alone I’ve celebrated two birthdays, helped my friend make two plaster molds, gone out to parties, sat around with new and old friends discussing movies and watching one thereafter (even though it was 1am on a Thursday), played Mario Kart, Monopoly. Not to mention the fact that with my friends, I learned to fly a drone, while also helping to make a movie with the footage we got from it.*
It’s because of them that these activities are so memorable and exciting. During all of these adventures, I get to hear them laugh, see them smile, watch them joke with one another, push each other around, get mad at each other, and even get annoyed with each other. But it’s all good in the end. Sure, we don’t all get along perfectly at all times, and it’s not like we’re always doing this many fun things in a single week - no group of friends is like that. But we all love each other, and I know life wouldn’t be nearly as interesting, uplifting, funny, or simply enjoyable without all of them.
I know it sounds like I’m just trying to brag about my life and friends in their current state, but I assure you that I’m not. I would be just as happy with all my friends if we didn’t do all of these things all the time. What I’m really trying to get at is that we all have friends like this. Friends that enhance life to the point that you feel happy in a million different ways when you’re with them. Friends that push you to do better in your work, to be a better person, that are always there for you, that are always ready for the next adventure; actually, that are more than ready for the next adventure, they’re craving it. Friends that just put a smile on your face when you think about them, and make you feel warm when you’re with them. Without them you’d be incomplete. We all have friends like this, and I really think we should make sure they know it. They should know how much they mean to us, and maybe they do, but if you’re like me then you don’t tell them nearly as much as you should. Friends are the most precious thing to have in this world, because a person who has friends is no failure. A person who has friends is the luckiest person in the world. Friends can make more of an impact on your life than just about anything else, and I am extremely thankful for my friends back home and at school. They mean the world to me.
*In case you are curious about the drone video that we made a couple days ago, you can check it out here. Or you can look up Umatilla, WA on Youtube and find the one made by Tywen Kelly. Tywen did all of the editing and most of the footage was taken when he was flying the drone. He does great work, and everyone should check out the video!
