Starting college is scary. In fact, starting ANYTHING new can be scary, but I think starting college is exceptionally scary because it’s a new chapter in your life. You’re now an adult, and you’re finally leaving the nest. Scary. And once you arrive at college, there’ll be TONS and TONS of new things to experience. Scary… but also exciting.
During my final semester of high school, I began to search Pinterest and YouTube for various tips for college freshman.
I learned ways to decorate my dorm room. I learned tips and tricks to study. I learned what to bring and what not to bring.
I loved hearing about other girls’ experiences at college because I had no clue what to expect.
Honestly though, I wasn’t all that scared for the college classroom since I felt well prepared by all my intense AP classes. And I wasn’t scared of forgetting to pack something I would need as I could just go buy anything I forgot.
What I was most afraid of was making new friends.
Because, senior year I didn’t have very many friends {which is weird because my class was tiny and in the past we were all pretty good friends}. But for some reason, senior year I felt alone.
I had two really awesome friends at school, but we weren’t able to hang out because life was so insanely busy.
Quite frankly, my senior year stunk. And this makes me sad because everybody says that “Senior year is the best year of high school!!” But it was awful for me.
Those two friends I had? They both had off campus lunch. And I didn’t. Normally, this was fine, because I had lunch meetings three out of the five school days. But the days I didn’t have meetings, I didn’t know where to sit… I’m pretty sure I actually ate lunch in the bathroom once… maybe more than once.
Anywho, senior year was pretty depressing. And I was so afraid that something was wrong with me. I feared that somehow I was doing something subconsciously that was repelling people from being my friend. I didn’t want to go to college and meet people, because what if none of them wanted to be my friend either??
Graduation came and went. My class parted for the last time, and honestly, I didn’t care. I knew I wouldn’t miss them… and knowing that broke my heart :(
Things started looking up at youth camp.
I had an AWESOME Bible study group at camp. {We called ourselves the Waffle Fries :D }
I made friends. Friends who loved Disney and Once Upon A Time and Jesus. Friends who asked me to sit with them at lunch.
I was so overwhelmed by happiness. Maybe there wasn’t something wrong with me…
And here’s a complete 100% God thing: two of the girls in my Bible study group were going to be freshman at my university in the fall too! We were so excited to have met each other! And I was thrilled that I now had two friends at college before the semester even started.
My Waffle Fries :)
After the week ended, we all stayed in touch for a while, but then {of course} as we reentered our lives back home communication slowed. However, I will be forever grateful that I met those people. They showed me that I could, in fact, make friends.
I was still apprehensive about making friends at college, but I wasn’t terrified anymore.
College started.
My roommate and I became quick friends.
I had an awesome Welcome Week family group, and I’m still good friends with a few girls I met there.
I found out the night before classes started that I had New Testament with one of my suite mates… and because we had that class together we became quick friends.
At the beginning of the spring semester, my other suite mate and I realized that we both wanted to join Spanish Club, and so we connected over that.
And now that it’s summer, I love looking back over my first year of college and seeing how I met each of my friends. It’s so cool to see how God answered my simple, yet desperate, pray for friends. And I couldn’t be more grateful.
