Going into your freshman year of college, you have many worries about how to go about such an extreme change in your life. The farther away from home you are, the scarier it seems to be. You lose the comfort of the friends and family you have known all your life, and your new home is a tiny dorm that you share with a stranger.

A common fear of many incoming freshmen is the chance that you won’t find any friends, or, once you find some, they won’t meet the expectation your friends back home have set. Luckily, I found a few of the best people my school has to offer. I couldn’t have had an easier transition because of them. Without my college best friends, I don’t know what I would do. Thank you to my people for getting me through the stress of the first few weeks of college. Thank you for all you do.

Thank you for bonding with me that first week when we were homesick and missing our family. Thank you for the first night of college: when I met most of you and we celebrated the next four years. Thank you for treating me like family since day one.

Thank you for sharing clothes, notes, and snacks. Thank you for the study and dinner dates and for motivating me to workout. Thank you for Netflix marathons when we are too lazy to do our homework. Thank you for giving me advice and making me laugh. Thank you for staying in with me on a Saturday night to FaceTime our friends back home and talk about how crazy we all are. Thank you for dragging me out on a Saturday night to dance to the most random songs.

Thank you for taking on so many roles that my mom, sister, and friends back home have been doing since I was little. Thank you for being my nurse when I am sick and running to the store for me when I am stuck in bed. Thank you for being my mom when I need her and she’s too far away. Thank you for listening when I need my sister’s advice and she’s not right down the hall.

Thank you for sharing my love for crime shows and dealing with my obsession with football. Thank you for sticking by me when I refuse to leave the dorm because my team lost. Thank you for cooking dinner with me when we are sick of dining hall food and miss home cooked meals. Thank you for taking my friends back home in as your own; I cannot wait to experience all of you together.

Thank you for experiencing this alongside me. From game days and block parties to the nights out and the nights we stay in, you have made my first few weeks here so amazing. I am so lucky to have found such great friends so quickly and I truly appreciate you. I look forward to making many more memories with you guys!