When I first moved in at Shippensburg and finally began my college career, I only knew one person: my roommate and forever best friend Jordon. We had so many plans for how to decorate our dorm and what clubs to join (flash forward to now, and none of those happened). One thing that we were not prepared for, however, was making new friends.

I consider myself to be a lowkey social butterfly, meaning I speak up when needed and can make friends fairly easy. With this being said, I was worried that my personality and hair color would turn people away. Let's be honest, how many people would walk up and say hi to someone with bright ass blue hair and an obnoxious laugh? But with Jordon by my side, I was less nervous and actually looked forward to meeting people that I wasn't stuck in my hometown with for eighteen years.

During orientation week, I met at least twenty people whose names I don't even faintly remember now. There were so many events and over one thousand students that everything and everyone blurred together. However, there were two people who really stuck out, and are now some of my best friends that I see almost every day.

In addition to the events, there was also an app for the freshmen called New Student Orientation, or NSO, where we could view our orientation schedule, check out the menus for our dining halls, and talk to other freshmen. Tons of students, including myself, were posting their Snap names and Insta handles, and I added at least thirty of them, one of whom eventually became one of my best guy (and gay) friends.

Throughout the first semester, I met people in my classes, talked to people who lived in my building, and attended various events (and parties) where I discovered more people who fall into my best friend category. From the second day of classes to now, each and every person who I consider one of my Ship best friends has been there for me through thick and thin. I have talked to them about family issues, my horrible history teacher from the first semester, and more. The memories we have made have been all over the place: the Burd Halloween party, bingo nights, jack box tournaments, and even our "family" dinners. I would not trade any of them for anything and cannot express how grateful I am for all of you.

To sum this all up, I want to say thank you. Thank you for taking care of me while I was throwing up at 2 a.m. Thank you for pushing me out of my boundaries and telling me to make the first move. Thank you for letting me cry on your shoulders and letting me return the favor. Thank you for finding room in your hearts to let me in. Just know that none of you are ever going to get rid of me, no matter how hard you try. I love you all so much and cannot wait to make more memories with you.

This letter is dedicated to Gordon Ramsey, Jason Derulo, Robert Patterson, Flo, Dad, Julia, my asshole, my GBFF, Gabe, Marquez, Kiara, and Tra (you all know who you are)