A Letter To My College Freshman Friends

We all started off so innocent. We decided to be friends in order to avoid eating alone and having nothing to do on the weekend. From there, the friendships bloomed, and soon, we were inseparable. We clung to each other as if our social lives depended on it. We went to all meals, sporting events, and parties together. We were that clique, the ones bound at the hips.

Sooner or later, however, you realize that you may not be all that compatible with the people that you chose as friends at freshman orientation. Either you make the conscious decision to break off the friendship(s), or you slowly drift apart as time goes by. Maybe one of these choices is better than the other, but no matter what route the friendship takes, the result is the same.

So, to the friends I discarded or was discarded by: thank you. Our friendships became so comfortable and familiar that I often do miss them. You all gave me a sense of belonging and got me through that first year. In a world where I came in knowing no one, you all got to know me.

Without my freshman friends I would have never ended up at parties where I got to meet new people that I clicked with. I would not have learned so much about myself if you all had not made me take a hard look in the mirror. You all made me look and see what in me needed to be improved upon, and I am a better person today for it. Even in retrospect, I would make all the same choices all over again, because I needed to move on. I know that now. The break off of certain friendships may have been messy, but I hold nothing bad in my heart against them.

So to my college freshmen friends, thank you for being exactly the kind of friends I needed at that time in my life. No matter where this life takes me, I have you all to thank for getting me through that first year. I am forever thankful for that fact.