A little over a week ago, I watched two of my close friends from my time at West Virginia Wesleyan get married. I have to admit, I shed a tear.
It was the first time I had ever seen any of my friends married, but it certainly won't be the last. In fact, I have three more weddings to attend this summer. If the first was any indication, I might be prone to allowing my emotions to get the best of me at these kinds of events.
I don't believe, however, that the ceremony itself got to me (though it was beautiful). This wedding, which took place on the campus where all of us had gone to college, brought together the best friends I've ever made, to watch two excellent members of our fine group celebrate their union.
Since Christmas, I hadn't seen everyone together. Graduation, as we all knew it would, had a way of sending us in our separate directions — some to jobs, some to graduate school in different corners of West Virginia and even separate states. That time apart, though, helped me to realize some things about my friends.
They are the rare kind of people that are genuine, and in fact, I have always known them to be. There was seldom a moment that I had reason to even question their sincerity. What's more — they were tremendously loyal. Even as college progressed and our various majors and other obligations tugged on our time, I knew that I could rely on any of the people in the group if I was having a difficult time.
They are also tremendously kind. Many groups of friends have a tendency — probably without even being aware of it — towards becoming closed off to others once they have formed. And yet, I found that my friends were always willing to invite new people into their ranks — a fortunate fact for me since I didn't even "join" the group until my sophomore year.
That was huge for me because they were the first group of close friends I ever made. They represented the belonging I hadn't found in high school, that which I worried after freshman year I might not find in college. And they were better than anything I could have ever imagined — a true blessing from God.
Surrounded by such high-quality people on a campus that held so many memories for us, I couldn't help but grow nostalgic. As we waited for our friends — the bride and groom themselves — to walk down the aisle, the group of us (sitting in an entire long pew together) reminisced on old memories. We remembered late night caving trips, time spent playing pool, and crazy shenanigans that even included having Nerf battles and playing Sardines in the very chapel where we presently sat.
It feels as if it had been ages since we graduated, though it's only been a year. Returning to campus together felt like coming home, but to a home that had been sold and was now inhabited by others — a place that you ask to explore because it meant so much to you some time ago. As the summer goes on and I watch more of my friends get married, I think that feeling will continue to be driven home. We are now adults and we are off to do world-changing things. Things will never be like they were when we were all together on that Buckhannon campus.
But, I realize, that's okay. With these people, I shared memories and love that were truly legendary (yes, that is a "How I Met Your Mother" reference — for a portion of the friend group, the show was a staple that we watched through many a long study break). As we prepared to leave the wedding reception, my old roommate — the first friend I made at Wesleyan and the person who first invited me to hang out with this incredible group of people — and I took a look through the window at our old dorm. That lobby housed so many of those memories, with close friends who remain as well as with those who couldn't stay.
Looking into that old, worn room, I knew that those memories and that love aren't going anywhere. I couldn't be happier that I met the people I did at West Virginia Wesleyan — they changed my life, and I wish everyone could find friends as wonderful as they are. The world would be incredibly better, just as my life is incredibly better for their being in it.
