When I moved away for college, I was so excited about all the new things I would be experiencing. A new place to live, new classes I would be starting, and all of the new faces I would be seeing every day. No one warned me about the new friends I would be making and the impact that they would have on my life. I love and miss my friends back home, but when you are away from home and meet new people, they become your family.

No one told me that fall break, Thanksgiving break, and now Christmas break would not only be a break in school but a break in my heart. I live on campus in an apartment, so I do not leave immediately and go back to my hometown when breaks come up, however, my friends I have made here on campus do.

When you get used to something, it is a lot harder to give it up and friends like these are no exception. You find yourself counting down the weeks, days, and hours until you see each other again. There is something missing from you when those friends go home, and you no longer have them in your day to day life anymore. It is like how you get used to being at college, who knew it would be even harder to get used to being away from your college friends.

You start missing those 3 a.m. trips to taco bell, walking around campus with your best friends, and being piled up in one of your beds laughing your head off at something ridiculous one of you said. You miss all the perfect picture moments and even the not so perfect ones when one of you is having a bad day.

Car rides are not the same without your friends are not hogging the AUX cord and screaming out the words to the newest Frozen movie soundtrack. College has its ups and downs, but those friends you made at your home away from home are always there and know exactly what you are going through.

Hold on to those friends that you make while at college, hold on to those memories you make, because one day, they will be just that, a memory. Take all the pictures and videos you can, it will make them being away a lot easier and give you a laugh when you need it. No one told me that the friends I made at college would become my family, but I'm so glad they did.