Move in day freshman year was probably the scariest moment of my life. Watching my family drive off, leaving me behind, alone and just overall super confused about why I chose to go to school halfway across the country led me into a serious panic attack that lasted about a week straight. Regardless of how old you are now, think back to the terrible time of first semester freshman year. Whether you’re like me and came hundreds of miles away from home to go to school for a fresh start, or just up the road, nothing could prepare you for what you were about to get yourself into. It wasn’t until I ran into my future best friend that I fell out of my recurring state of panic. Looking back now, I owe so much to my best friend and will forever be thankful for everything she has given me.
Dear Freshman Year Best Friend,
Thank you for being in a recurring state of confusion with me for the first six months of school.
Thank you for having equally no idea where any class was and walking through your schedule with me the night before classes started so we didn’t look like major freshman wandering around with campus maps.
Thank you for going through recruitment with me and going to countless club meetings with me until we both found out what we liked, together. It’s equally awesome and scary given a blank slate where you can try anything and everything you want to; thanks for helping me find the activities that were going to shape me for the rest of my life.
Thanks for making the dorms suck a little less. You made the impossible, possible by filling dorm nights with silly movie nights and funny stories.
Thank you for suffering in the library with me; trying to get through the rude awakening college courses gave us. Of course we thought we had it all figured out in high school, college was like a slap in the face. Thanks for figuring out how to actually study the right way with me, and skipping Thursday nights out to help me try and pass my math test.
Thanks for eating gross dining hall meals with me. We now are able to successfully navigate the calorie/fat-filled meals and know to head straight to the salad bar.
Thanks for scheduling your classes the same times as mine so we can walk to class together without getting lost. If it weren’t for you, I would have been wandering around campus for hours just trying to figure out which building my class was in.
Most importantly, thank you for giving me a home away from home. I honestly don’t think I could have gotten through my first year, much less my first semester, without your undying support. You gave me a support system away from home that I will never be able to thank you enough for. You changed my life for the better, and I can only hope I did the same for you.