A universal college experience is the struggle to find your people, and I certainly have not been spared from facing that canon event. Although everyone’s situation is slightly different, I have never met another college student who has not felt alone or in the search of new friends on multiple occasions throughout their four years of undergrad. Friend groups can be messy, people go abroad or transfer, and sometimes you might just realize a friend isn’t who you thought they were. However, I think that something somewhat unique to the Holy Cross experience is the difficulty to bounce back from one of these events, whether it was as big as a complete falling out with a friend, or as simple as looking for some new people to grab dinner with on occasion. I feel as though the dynamic at Holy Cross and the students here create a gridlock of social groups that are difficult to break though or cross-over in. Whether it’s the size of the student body, the demographic that gravitates towards the school, or something else entirely, Holy Cross can commonly just feel like high school all over again (drama, cliques, etc.).
Something that I have found personally useful and helpful as I try to push back against the common culture here at college is going to faith-based groups and finding connection through the people there. Throughout my time here, I’ve attended a faith-based retreat and joined multiple, semester-long small groups that meet weekly to connect and discuss faith. The most recent one I have joined is the Catholic Women’s Group. Although I consider myself a Christian and not a Catholic, this group is for any women who want to spend a little more time deepening their faith and are searching for a community of like-minded people who are striving to do the same. It meets every Monday at 8:15 in the Chaplain’s, and there’s a different focus each week which we form our discussion and activities around. I am so grateful that I found this group, and although I’ll be missing it in the spring semester while I’m abroad, I’m already so excited to be going back to it next fall.