Thank you to my best friends on campus.

It has only been four weeks, and already you have helped me so much. Sophomore year has, somehow, proved to be a much harder adjustment than Freshman year was. Luckily, I stumbled upon two wonderful ladies who have kept my sanity in check and been better friends to me than I have ever had before.

My fun-loving, caring roommate keeps me grounded. Over the six months I have known her, she has pulled me out of my inverted shell and made me a better person. I am comfortable in my room and feel safe in my suite because I know that, if anything were to ever happen, she would be right there for me.

My accidental friend- a girl a few doors down from me who is new to the school, somehow drew me in the first day. We were instant friends, bonding over how we aspire to be suburban moms and (within hours) planning on having houses next door to each other, our mini vans in a conjoined driveway. She keeps me laughing and smiling, and is always there with a fluffy blanket at exactly the right moment.

The beginning of this semester has been stressful, but now that I have the right friends, I have no doubt that I can get through it. Through mid-terms and drama, long-distance relationships and anxiety attacks, I am not entirely worried. I know that, even when the rest of the world turns it’s back on me, these girls will pull me into a blanket fort, or drag me down the bike path on some adventure, and they will make everything alright.

It’s funny, because all my life I was under the impression that being an adult meant not needing anyone else’s help. But, I have learned that is not the case at all. Being an adult is not the lack of needing people, but being able to know which people you need, when you need them, and how to be there for them when they need the favor returned. It is realizing that reaching out for help, even from your closest of friends, is one of the strongest things you can do.

So, in this 500 words, I need to thank these two wonderful girls that I have been blessed with. Thank you for making me feel safe, valid, and loved. Thank you for hugging me through my tears and checking on me when I am quiet. Thank you for making our entire friend group hug me when I look sad. Thank you for distracting me from my anxiety and allowing me to feel normal. Thank you for letting me know, even without words, that you will always be here for me. In such a short time, your friendship has come to mean so much to me.

Thank you.