I have had various different types of friends in my life. Friends from my 12 years of public school. Friends from dancing and cheerleading. Friends from sports. Friends from theatre. Friends in different states. Friends who have stayed in my life forever. And, even those friends who left. But, there’s something different about the friends you meet in college.
Photo taken by Rachel Haneline (my incredible mentor)
College is a time unlike anything many experience before coming. You are left, to fend for yourself (well, sorta kinda). You unpack your things, and your parents go — and, there you are. Left alone, or so you think.
But, days turn into weeks and before you know you’re starting to find yourself a couple friends here on campus. Those friends turn into the people you call after you fail your midterm. Or, the people that are there to cheer you up after the guy who you thought was great turned out to be far from it. The ones you stay up laughing with one night, and the next your tediously working with into the early hours of the morning with them still by your side. Even the beloved late night dining hall food run. These are the people that slowly but surely make you realize you’ve found your family away from home.
Soon goofy moment, or serious conversations become treasured memories you’ll hold onto for a lifetime. It seems to be in this short time they’ve seen you go through things, you never imagined you would experience. Or, they soon will learn who you are better than those you might have known you for years. They understand you for who you are, not who you’ve always been and there’s unrecognized beauty in the uniqueness of this.
These people we meet in college might not stay in our lives forever, and might not even stay by our sides for the whole four years. But, there’s something to be said to those people and it’s thank you. Thank you for looking past our awkward nervousness the first couple days. Thank you for taking on this crazy experience we call college together. For, that’s the only way you can do it. College is meant to be spent with people, and I am glad I have found the right people to spend mine with.
A huge thank you to my friends here at George Mason for inspiring this, I love each and every single one of you more than I love Pilot House’s mac and cheese wedges!
Photo Credits to Katherine Quigley