I probably should begin writing this article by mentioning two things. First, I was scared-- no that’s a lie, I was terrified at the thought of leaving home and coming to college. As I was finishing high school and was choosing where to go to college, I dreaded the idea of leaving home. Sure, I always said to my friends that I couldn’t wait to leave and get out of our small town, but deep down I dreaded the leaving home--the only place I had known for 18 years of my life. I knew that there were better opportunities for me if I did leave, but I dreaded leaving the people I knew and loved for such a long period of time. I was always the shy girl who always asked herself “would I make friends wherever I go?” Secondly, people always told me that I would meet my best friends in college, and to be honest, I never believed it. I am the type of person that was never a big believe of cliches, but now that I look back as I write this article, I realized that people were right. I did not only meet my best friends, but I met my family.

It’s funny because my friends from back home and even I ask myself the same question; “how was I lucky enough to meet these people?” To to be quite honest, It wasn’t until recently that I had found the answer to the question.A couple of months ago, some of us were strangers who just happened to pass each other in the hallway with the occasional wave. While some of us sat next to each other in the same class or joined the same organization and became a small family of our own. But despite the different ways we crossed paths, there is one thing you all have in common; and that is that they all became a big part of my life in one way or another.

There were (and still are) times where I feel like the world was crashing down around me and nothing was going right. There were times where I just wanted to cry and give up because I felt like I was not worthy enough to keep going. But then at the end of the day, despite how I was feeling, it was those people, whether through text or in person, who were the ones that picked me up, told me to never give up, and gave me the motivation that I needed to keep going. Every night, I would look at my photo collage hanging on my wall above my bed. And that photo collage became the little reminder that despite everything wrong going on, I realized that I something in my life is going right because I have these wonderful people surrounding me.

If you know me and are reading this article, please know there are not enough words to describe how much you all mean to me. I don’t think I have ever told you this, mainly because we are too busy laughing and making memories every chance we get, but there are a million things I want to thank you for. Thank you for listening to my rants, or going out to dinner to the dining hall despite what is being served that night, or just giving me advice from the biggest to the smallest things in life, or taking care of me when I am sick. But above all, thank you for being the people I needed the most in my life. You all, in some way, have shown me that home isn’t where you are, but who you are with. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to laugh the way I do when you all are around, or have half the memories that I have. Thank you for turning nights into mornings, for making me laugh, but most importantly proving to me that you really do meet your best friends in college.