Before college, I never had close guy friends. Don’t get me wrong, I was friendly with lots of guys, but I never had a best friend who was a boy.
Last year, this changed. I met Eoghan at Mt. Irenaeus, and the rest has been history. As soon as I met him, I wanted to be his friend, and I could already picture our college future of late nights working on homework and early mornings in the Murphy lounge.
Eoghan and I consider one another siblings at this point, and as an only child, it’s comforting to have a brotherly person in my life. He’s one of five kids and has fantastic parents. I feel so loved by his family, and I am always thrilled when I get to see them!
Eoghan is the most goofy and quirky guy I know, and I think I learn something new about him every day. He loves music and was the first friend I had that listened to the music I grew up listening to with my dad. He has a radio show on SBU’s station on Sunday nights, and every time I get to listen to it, I feel so proud to have a friend who pursues hobbies that fulfill him.
Last semester, Eoghan would stay up until midnight every weeknight with me to make sure that I made it back to our dorm building safely. I assumed that he also had schoolwork to do, but it took until one of the last weeks of the semester to learn that he was up only to keep me company and to keep me safe. He’s truly a gem of a human.
Eoghan has taught me to be kinder to myself. Every time I’d have a tough day last year, he’d remind me, “you’ve done harder things”. He’s right. As silly as it sounds, this reminder pushed me through every time.
He reminds me to take more time for myself. Eoghan uses his evenings to play games and watch movies while we spend time together and it reminds me that I also am allowed to do things that fill my cup.
We discovered last year that we were both PBS Kids, and as I’m writing this, we just watched an episode of “Word Girl”, a classic of my childhood. We have bonded over so many other parts of our early childhoods that I sometimes question how we’re not actual siblings.
He and I have a number of inside jokes, but none of them are easy enough to explain. Sometimes we just have to look at one another and we both start cackling, and that’s when I remember how grateful I am to have a friend who I can just be myself around.
We also know when the other one needs a hug or when we need alone time. We have each other’s backs and I couldn’t ask for a better friend!