You are the cause and conductors for so much of my day-to-day happiness.

As some of my Facebook followers know, I have often struggled with finding meaning in the onward perseverance in life. Prior to coming to college, I never really had a close-knit group of friends but somewhat enviously observed those that did, seeing how much they enjoyed themselves in each other’s company, made plans to do things together, and relied on one another in times of difficulty or crisis. Now, I do have that group of friends, and I have been truly amazed at the degree to which I am able to manage continual and potentially degrading stress just with them around. The idea, as I have come to repeat to many, that we are in this together, is somehow so comforting and propones the joy of shared experience. We laugh together, we go out together, we discuss academics together, we work together, and we live together. This feeling of unity is unlike any other that I have experienced, and it is the chief contributor both to my transition back to college and to my burgeoning perception of Rochester as a real home. The intertwining of our personalities produces laughter, compassion, and mutual respect, all perfect ingredients for overarching happiness. Thank you for filling my life with this uplifting camaraderie.

Without you, I would discontinue most of my personal growth.

One role of a real friend that I take very seriously is the honest confidant and discusser, and in college, I have been met with reciprocity. The greatest percentage of time among friends is certainly spent simply talking, often about respective life experiences and memorable encounters. As I have shared my chronicle with them, they have responded with pricelessly beneficial advice and perspective, and I hope that I have been able to do the same for them when they have needed it. These compassionate yet third-party opinions often keep me mostly rational in emotionally-charged or hard-hitting situations, and I have learned lessons through this process that I would not have without them. This willingness to help one another to continue maturing is a demonstration of our hope for one another, of our good faith in each person’s potential, and of our desire to appeal to and bring out the best in one another. I have a long way to go with respect to maturity, and they are precisely the people who can help me to continue along that path. Thank you for looking for the light inside me, no matter how dim.

The acceptance and welcome that you have shown me means more than you think.

At no time in my life outside of my triangular family unit have I ever felt as though I fit in. It hasn’t always been due to exclusion or social anxiety, but there has often been enough internal dissonance with social environments as to deprive me of confidence and urge me to remove myself. College is the first macroscopic phase of life in which I now feel a sense of belonging, both in this scientifically-driven community, but also, and more significantly, among such wonderful individuals with outstanding personalities who accept people on principle. I didn’t have to worry about the way I look, or how I talk, or my fundamental perspectives; they showed me respect and sought to include me even before they learned about these aspects of my identity. When I’m just a few doors down, and when we’re out, and when we form large conversational groups (somehow always outside my room even though it’s at the end of the hall), and when we text, that loneliness becomes quite easy to fight away. Thank you for providing me with the first real “home away from home.”