Especially as freshman in college, we stay in contact with our friends from home. Some of these friends may be at other colleges and some may be younger, perhaps seniors in high school, who are wanting to know what college is like. No matter their year in high school or college, if you’re friends, they may ask to visit, or you may ask them. I want to offer some advice about how to successfully host other students because what I expected didn’t end up being the reality!
Obviously, if your friend knows what they want to do when they visit you in LA, definitely do what they want. My friend and I were not this put together. We had multiple conversations where both of us would claim we didn’t care, and say we just wanted to do whatever the other person wanted. It is nice to have an idea in mind of what you want to do throughout the weekend, especially if you are not able to drive yourselves. My friend and I barely planned what we wanted to do and even though I could drive us wherever, we still spent a lot of time thinking about what to do.
It’s not that there aren’t things to do in LA; there is so much! But this is why it’s so hard to figure out what to do. There are so many options! I found that when you’re in doubt, just get food. Getting food is a safe bet because everyone likes to eat and LA has so many places to try! Shopping is also a good option. I just know that I wanted to give my friend a super fun weekend and I felt bad just taking her shopping. I felt like we weren’t doing anything exciting enough. But this is where I was totally wrong! You may not have the time, or the funds, to go to Universal Studios, five star restaurants, Disneyland, Warner Bros, etc. Their weekend with you doesn’t have to be a full on vacation.
I remember feeling like I wasn’t doing enough but I realized that my friend just wanted to see where I went to school. And that’s another thing: don’t feel like you need to be off campus the whole time they are visiting. Also, if they are interested, consider taking them to some of your classes if they are with you before the start of the weekend. If you have any work to do, that’s okay. They should understand, especially since they are also a student. I remember feeling so bad having to do homework on Friday before a class while my friend sat there. But really, it was not a big deal like I thought it was.
Your friends will come visit because 1) they want to spend time with you and 2) they want to see what your life is like at college. Be somewhat realistic about it; show them what your life is really like both on and off campus. Obviously, you can step up your game a little bit (maybe eat out more often than you normally do on a weekend) but you don’t have to go crazy. Your guest will have fun no matter what. It’s taken me a couple tries to figure that out but overall, having friends from home visit make for such a nice, relaxing, fun weekend!