“Welcome to the best four years of your life.”
I never doubted anyone who ever said this to me upon beginning my freshman year, but I also had no idea what I was in for. I was so beyond ready to move on from the drama of high school and experience completely new and exciting things in college.
I knew quite a few people from my high school that were also going to the same college as me, but at the same time I couldn’t wait to branch out from my old friends and make new ones. In a matter of just a few short weeks, I had formed relationships with people that I never thought were possible. My friends in college quickly became my family, and I wouldn’t have traded them for the world. Reflecting back on my freshman year now as a senior, I don’t know how I would have survived the past 4 years without my college friends.
Don’t get me wrong – your high school friends are very important. They were with you through some of the most awkward times of your life, which is something you’ll never be able to thank them enough for. However, clinging to these friends in college probably isn’t the best idea. You can remain close with your high school friends whether they’re on the same campus as you or not, but you shouldn’t hold yourself back from meeting new people simply because you have them.
College is a time to find yourself. It’s a time to try things you’ve never done before, and meet different people along the way. By clinging to just your high school friends, you’re setting yourself up for a limited college experience.
Thinking that you already have friends at college just because you know people from your high school that are going there is a terrible way of looking at things. College is a time to step out of your comfort zone and make new friends, because let’s face it - friendships don’t just form by themselves; they require effort. If you want to make the most of your time in college, make the most of your relationships, too.
If you’re able to branch out and meet new people in college freshman year, your senior year you will thank you. It’s nice being able to differentiate my “high school friends” from my “college friends” since they aren’t made up of all the same people. It’s such a blessing to have two completely different but equally important groups of people in your life.
When you find yourself in college, you find your true friends along the way. If you hold yourself back and limit your experience, you may never find the people who will become so prominent over the next four years of college, and most likely the rest of your life.
The high school chapter of your life has come to a close. Don’t cling to the past - start a new chapter in college. You’ll thank yourself later.
