Having friends from home visit you at college is an exciting prospect, especially if you haven’t seen them for a long time or they live very far away. Your two worlds — home and college — collide in a beautiful way, allowing you to explore how you’ve grown since arriving on campus.Â
Personally, I gain a lot of insight from analyzing how I interact with people from different times in my life. Beyond opportunities for reflection, the most crucial part of hosting friends from back home is ensuring that they have a great time and feel comfortable in an unfamiliar place.
Over Halloweekend, I welcomed my best friend from high school to stay with me at Boston University. This was her second time staying in my dorm, but because of the holiday weekend, I had to accommodate how wildly different our plans looked.
The first undeniably important step of inviting a guest to stay is getting consent from your roommates — whether your friends are in your space overnight or for a few days. Remember, your guest is your responsibility, and anything they do might reflect poorly on you, so keep that in mind when inviting hometown friends to visit.Â
Step two for hosting guests as a college student (especially during a notoriously busy and daunting time like Halloweekend) is preparation. Please, reject procrastination. If you have a paper due, finish it in advance.
Don’t deplete the little time you have for a rare friend visit just because you put something off until the last minute. If your dorm room looks like a bomb went off (which most do during midterms season), take some time, even if it’s just 15 minutes, to vacuum, do laundry, or organize your desk.Â
Whether you’re welcoming your best friend from high school into your college dorm, or allowing your in-laws to stay a few nights at your suburban home, it’s simply good manners to set up the space prior to your guests’ arrival. This means busting out the reliable blow-up bed (don’t forget sheets and a pillow), buying more snacks, and making space for another person. The key to being a good host is making the guest’s comfort a priority.Â
Lastly, the best part of inviting a guest to your college campus is immersing them into your world. This ultimately helps your guest make the most out of their trip!Â
As a college student at an urban campus, I’ve learned that different colleges’ cultures can be vastly different. So, it was very exciting to show my best friend, who goes to a large state school, what it’s like to live in the city. We spent time around Boston and hit the typical touristy spots, like Newbury Street and Beacon Hill.
Sometimes, your life can look radically different at college and back home. It’s fun to show someone that’s known you for a long time different sides of your life!
The key here is inclusivity. Incorporate your college friend group into activities with your guests and allow them to get to know each other. For me, it was super heartwarming to witness my loved ones click perfectly, when they might never have otherwise met. Take your guest to the dining hall with group meals too, even if the temptation of a fancy restaurant takes hold.
Brief visits from hometown friends, long-distance significant others, or family members should never be taken for granted. Time flies by faster than we realize.
Hometown friends are our rocks in an ever-changing and ever-moving life.
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