This summer had the potential to be one of the most boring summers I would have ever experienced. I was leaving my first year of college – one of the best years of my life – and was leaving behind some of the best friends I have ever met. On my way home from school, all I could think about was, how am I going to have any fun when I am leaving my best friends and the place I love behind? I was going home to a town full of people I don’t talk to anymore, a place where I would have to work close to 30 hours every week, and a place where I only had a few close friends. I was scared that I was going to fall into a routine where I wake up, eat, work out, go to work, eat again, then go to bed. I only really had two friends I could call my best friends at home, and I thought that meant that I would be bored out of my mind, lonely, and sad.
That’s where I was wrong. The two best friends previously mentioned made my summer one of the most memorable summers I have ever had. And no, we didn’t travel to another country, do crazy things together like jump out of a plane, or even go on a small weekend trip. We simply enjoyed spending time together by doing everyday things. We would run errands together (one of our favorite pastimes), go dorm shopping, go to the beach, go hiking, build furniture, paint canvases, and even move one another into our college homes. We made our fun with what we had, which was each other (and Target), and that was all we really needed.
It was this summer that made me realize the number of friends you have does not constitute your happiness. It is the quality of the person – how they make you feel and how they show they love you – that determines the level of joy and fun you experience. And let me tell you, these two are the highest quality of friends that a girl could ask for, and I could not be more grateful to have both of them in my life.
So thank you Jordyn and Lindsey, for teaching me that joy is in the little things, that adventure can be close to home, and that happiness isn’t determined by how many people you surround yourself with, but who you surround yourself with. I miss you both so much already and can’t wait for the school visits that are sure to come in the near future.
With love,
Danielle 😊