As I write this article on the last few days of my spring break, friendship is on my mind.
Now a sophomore, I have been home for several school breaks and a very strange concept has become very clear to me…I now have two completely different groups of friends.
Meeting new people and making new friends is likely one of the best parts of college.
As a freshman, you are thrown into a pool of completely new people from all over the country and living in community gives you the opportunity to create very unique and close bonds with your peers.
As we discover more about ourselves in our four years in college and with this much larger pool of people we are able to find those with whom we have a great deal in common and create friendships and relationships that are perhaps much stronger than those formed during our high school years.
I recently had lunch with one of my close friends from high school.
One of our favorite activities when we get together during breaks is to tell stories of our experiences during the semester.
It occurred to me that, as entertaining and exciting as these stories are, I am never familiar with any of the people in the stories told by my friend and it is likely that I will never meet them.
It is also likely that my friends from my hometown will never be friends with (or even come in contact with) my friends from college.
Sometimes I can’t help but feel like I am cheating on my best friends from high school with my new friends from college.
What is the best way to balance both groups?
Do you try your best to give them equal amounts of attention while still keeping them separate, or do you attempt to mix them in some way?
I have to say, most of the time, convenience is simply going to win.
It is often very difficult to spend time with your new friends while you are at home for the summer or on a break and it is just as difficult to see your old friend while you are all away at college.
I think the only thing you can do is put in the effort.
Spend time with your school friends while at school and your friends from home while you’re at home and make an effort to stay in touch with everyone while you’re not together.
You can’t be overly concerned with having them all together or making one group more important than the other, that is too much pressure and rather unrealistic.
It has been my experience that the distance and separation have actually been quite beneficial for my friendships.
You learn who you really want in your life and who really cares about you when you can’t be together all of the time.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that, although it may be strange, having two completely different groups of friends is kind of a great thing.
Your two groups may never meet each other and I think that’s ok, each friend serves a different purpose.
Every person brings something a little different into your life so when you go off to college your life is enhanced that much more.
The more the merrier!
Bridget Goedke
Viewpoints Editor