Coming into college, I knew a few people from high school but none that I anticipated being close with in college. Nothing against them -- we were just going doing very different paths.
However, growing up in the military community and moving as often as I have, I’m used to being “new” and having to start from scratch on the friend-making platform.
In the past, my method has been to find one person and latch onto them until I figure out what I want to pursue. In high school, I latched onto a few girls in the marching band (which I was part of all four years of high school -- band nerds for the win) and from there I met people in the theater department, media studies, and choir. I used marching band as a jumping off point.
My plan in college was fairly similar -- make friends, and find connections.
I wrote a whole article about my experience my first month of college, and how I didn’t have a roommate for the first month or so. That factor made the friend-process even more difficult. Luckily, a few girls in my hall took pity on me, and two years later, I consider those girls my family.
I think that having a group on campus that you would consider family is more important than anyone may think. Friends and acquaintances are great, but a family is supportive, encouraging, and experiences life right alongside you, so they have the best advice and are of course the best to vent to.
My “plan” took a different path than it had in high school, but I believe that to be because I was satisfied calling these girls my campus family. Through them, I’ve met some really cool people, some of whom I’ve had some great adventures with. I’ll cherish these people forever. However, as much as I loved them, they weren’t in my major, and that made talking about class or assignments a little tough.
In the spring of 2014, a girlfriend of mine took it upon herself to go to the involvement fair, which I couldn’t get to, and signed me up for this fraternity thing because it looked cool, and like something I’d want to do. And, honestly, that in itself meant a lot to me. I didn’t ask her to sign me up for what would become the greatest part of my college career, but she did it, just because.
What she had signed me up for was a group called Lambda Kappa Tau, which at the time, wasn’t a fraternity -- it was a Greek-lettered society. The reason she signed me up was because this group focused on creating media in the form of movies, music, writing, art, and all other things creative. I timidly went to the following interest fair for the group, with a push from my girlfriends. Without them, I probably wouldn’t have gone. Creative people can be intimidating as hell.
I ended up loving every bit of that group. The people were welcoming, the media they made was quality, and there was so much room for opportunity.
The people in that room became my second campus family.
I think that this is the importance of a campus family. Without that strong core group, I wouldn't have had the guts to sign up for this group. I wouldn't have met all the people I have. I wouldn't have done anything but sit in my room watching Netflix all day. What a campus family gave me was the encouragement and enthusiasm i needed to pursue whatever it was that I chose to do. To this day, I can throw any idea out there, like writing a book or making a music video, and two to three people will immediately jump back with "I can help! If you need extra hands, I've got you!"
If I had said that in high school, everyone would a) look at me like I'm insane, and b) leave me to my own devices. Having that support system pushing me constantly is what I would consider a family. And they'll be there regardless. If you need a good cry, wine night and pizza, or just to vent about that girl in your class that *always* has an opinion, they're there, ready to listen. I have no doubt that my campus family will be there beside me the day I get married.
There is no limit to how many campus families one can have. You can group them within clubs, fraternities, sororities, people you sit with on campus, or people you met the first week of school. The only requirement for a campus family is that it is filled with people you love and that love you unconditionally.
