College friends are way more than just the person you sit next to in your math class. Just a couple of days ago, while out to eat at dinner with some of my best friends at Auburn, we all got into a conversation on how much college brings people closer. In high school, friendship meant talking about your least favorite teachers, going to high school football games, and stressing over who asked who to homecoming. However, we all discovered how much college changes good friends into feeling like one big family.

1. You all basically live together.

In high school, the closest you got to "living together" was having a sleepover. In college, it is basically like a never ending sleepover. School nights aren't really a thing anymore and you all sleep in a few feet range of one another. However, this really makes you realize how friendships in college really feel like family because you are on the same sleep schedule and all sleep just a doorway away.

2. You do things together you normally do with your parents.

College friends are the perfect people to ask for help when you can't ask your parents. Whether you need someone to go to the grocery store with you, you don't know how to register for your classes next semester, or you just need a hug, these friends are there when your family can't be. I am 2 and a half hours from my home so going home all the time or having my family with me is very unrealistic. However, having friends that fill in that gap and feel like family are greatly appreciated, lol.

3. You literally eat every meal of the day together.

In high school, you probably only ate one meal together, lunch. Oh, the high school lunch room. So many stereotypes from movies and TV shows which were actually pretty accurate. In college, not only is there really no such thing as a high school cafeteria (unless you consider restaurants such as Chick-fil-A and Starbucks as cafeteria lunch), but you eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sometimes 2nd dinners together! College friends are always there to try and eat healthy for a change and also, eat french fries for the second time that day.

4. They force you to go to the gym.

College is a game changer when it comes to working out. In high school, most would have had to drive to get all the way to the gym to workout. In college, it is a very easy walkable distance and college friends definitely help influence working out together. It's way more fun with friends and when you just want to stay in bed and sleep, they help encourage to get up and workout! (shoutout to them or I probably would've experienced the Freshman 15).

5. They are the biggest support system you could ever imagine.

Whether you just failed your exam or you got the leadership position you wanted, college friends are there to make sure you feel loved, no matter if it is everything you wanted or nothing you wanted. They stick by you because they have seen you at your worst and your best.

Take advantage of the wonderful people you get to spend your life with. Your college years only happens once and it's not where you spend it, it's who you spend it with. Love on the amazing and supportive friends you have made through all those stressful times and be thankful that you can now call these friends your family. Don't forget to always thank them for everything they do for you especially if you don't tell them a lot!

Much love and shout out to all of my new college family!