Becoming newly-emerged adults and leaving the life of grade school behind is one of many big steps a person makes in their life. Being a college student feels like being half an adult. We’re living away from our families and taking control of our lives unlike ever before, but at the same time, still have the comfort blanket of being students. For the most part, college has met my expectations in this manner, with a few pleasant experiential surprises along the way.
However, the challenge I wasn’t prepared for in any way was socializing. Living at home, connecting with others, particularly peers, came to me a lot easier. High school population is such a small percentage of the college population, meaning you would see more familiar faces in a day and share a lot more classes with a higher concentration of people you know. Maintaining friendships has been so much harder and requires more effort since I’ve came to college. At first, I thought it was just me, until I realized high school had simply made it easy.
Recently, I watched a short segment of an episode from Jay Shetty’s podcast, On Purpose, where Shetty and his guest, Mel Robbins, discussed why making friends as an adult feels so impossible. Robbins talks about how school has us moving in groups, collating us into teams. We share the same milestones and same birthdays, but eventually, we reach an age where these groupings become separated and foggy — an age we’re moving towards. In high school, we all discussed what our plans were and most of them aligned with one another. Now, the branching of our lives widens, and people we once had so much in common with feel like our polar opposites.
“We share the same milestones and same birthdays, but eventually, we reach an age where these groupings become separated and foggy — an age we’re moving towards.”
Have no fear though. It may be starting to feel a little more difficult to maintain relationships and find the space to socialize amongst all the crazy that is life, but friends always remain steadfast. Taking the time to make sure you’re taking care of yourself and putting in the necessary effort required for these friendships reaps the most plentiful rewards. I find, in the end, it’s always worth it. The hurdles can always be overcome.