Every so often, I think back to how afraid I was to graduate high school and begin college. I remember scrolling through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook seeing hundreds of posts about how much everyone would miss each other and how high school was the best years of our lives.
The post that stood out most in my mind was one that said, “Dear Class of 2013, there is life after high school!” Little did I know just how true this statement would prove to be. College has led me to meet the people that will stand at my wedding, but more importantly, they are the people I’ve come to realize I will have in my life forever.
1. They don't know your past unless you tell them (and that includes all of the embarrassing moments you swore you'd never talk about again).
Thinking back to high school, you might have been the “stuck in the wrong crowd” person who didn’t have the most solid group of friends. You may have also been that friend who was constantly getting into trouble and decided that college would be your time to reinvent yourself.
Maybe you were even that person who fell down the stairs in front of the whole school or spilled a drink all over yourself at lunch that left you with an embarrassing stain in an awkward location. Whatever the case may be, college became the time where you could be anyone you want to be and start fresh, and this attitude has led you to meet your best friends and the people you want to be surrounded by.
2. You live together in this unreal bubble your campus traps you in.
College became your home because of the people in it. From faculty and staff to leadership positions to nights out on the town, you’ve found that this place has shielded you from the ugliness of the outside world and given you the opportunity to figure out who it is you want to be. Luckily, there are so many people on campus that are in the same position as you, and your friends are always right by your side as you navigate the “life after college” conversation with your family.
3. Choosing your own major has introduced you to people with similar interests.
Walking into classes the first day of freshman year was one of the most intimidating experiences. After registering for classes now, you find yourself texting every friend in your major to see how much class time you’ll get to spend together next semester. Ultimately, you love going to your major classes because you’re guaranteed to see your friends, at the very least, twice or three times a week.
4. Overall, you spend an unhealthy amount of time with these people.
Between classes, meals and weekends, you cannot avoid meeting people or spending quality time with people you already know. Every minute of the day is spent with another person. If you have a roommate, housemate or apartment-mate, you come home at the end of the day to a friend instead of a sibling or parent. What better way to become best friends than by living with some of them? But even if you’re not roommates, just living in the same building, apartment complex or even on the same street gives you an automatic group of people to hang out with.
5. They are your breakup counselors as well as the third-wheel for the new relationship.
College is a time where you a) end your relationship with your high school sweetheart, b) spend your semesters visiting your significant other, c) immerse yourself in the hookup culture or d) begin to date someone new. Whatever it is, at least one of your college friends has probably lived through anything you’re experiencing. Ending your relationship with someone you thought you’d be with forever might be hard, but your college friends will be there to help you keep going. They’ll be there when you come home after visiting your S.O., but most importantly, they will be the third-wheel of your new and exciting relationship when you realize that you want to find the “cheese” to your “macaroni.”
6. You experience the "what am I going to do with my life" feelings together while avoiding your parents' questions about post-grad life.
Even though figuring out what you want to do with your life is hard, you know you live in a place full with people who feel the exact same way. The sudden realization that the time to apply for grad-schools, jobs or take MCATs, GREs, LSATs or any other life-deciding exam is around the corner is a scary one. However, you’re not supposed to know what you want to do for the rest of your life at such a young age. Having friends to navigate these feelings with makes life after college a little less scary, and they will be the ones to tell you your strengths, which are oftentimes things you cannot see yourself.
7. Most importantly, they're your family when yours is over 100 miles away.
When you get to the point in the semester where all you want is a home-cooked meal, mom’s hug, dad’s advice, quality time with your grandparents, a laugh with your siblings or a nice, long cuddle with your pets (or any of that interchangeably), remember who made being away from home for such a long period of time all the fun that it is. Your college friends have become the family you hoped you’d find at school and have made your campus a home away from home.
Dear college friends,
Thanks for being there for all the stupid, the tough and the in-between decisions. Thanks for the support through the tough times. Thanks for the hugs when life became complicated. Most of all, thanks for being family because there’s nothing as important as family.
