Somewhere Between Peanut and Professional: Thankful for Friendship

Feeling tired but I am unable to sleep. Naturally, I go looking for something to entertain me and I end up looking at old photos. I love going back a little ways on my Facebook or Instagram and reminiscing on the past. It is fun going back really far and looking at yourself as a small child, but it is also really fun to look at photos from just a few weeks to several months ago. Those are the ones that make you feel especially grateful. I look back to just over a year ago when so many friendships were forming. Within 24 hours of moving into my dorm at Ball State, my roommate and I had already begun to form a friendship that would turn into something amazing. The second day here, before classes had even started, I met the guy who would ask me to date him a month and a half later, and who is now my boyfriend of over a year. That same weekend, one of the strongest groups of friends I have ever had formed, and we continue to refer to ourselves as “La familia”. These seven people have stuck with me through every single day of my college life, and I do not expect that to ever change. We are all extremely different from one another, but we came together like two very strong magnets (sorry for the cheesy pun) that nobody would ever be able to pull apart. Each of these people offers something so unique to the group and I cannot thank them enough for having such a huge impact on my life already.

I could easily write a ten-page paper talking about all the things I love when it comes to the seven of them, but I’ll keep it short and sweet:

Becca is the best roommate I could have ever asked for (no wonder I’m living with her for all four years) and always has open ears for me to vent to. I know I can blow my steam when I’m with her and she won’t judge me no matter what. I don’t know if we have actually matured or if we finally got the hint when our neighbors banged on the wall at 3am, but that late night craziness last year made me realize that there is somebody out there that can be [almost] as obnoxious as my somehow-introvert self.

Ian is an absolutely wonderful boyfriend and I am so blessed that I have somebody that constantly and consistently has a shoulder for me to lean on. He is so encouraging and makes me a better person when I’m in his presence. It feels like I have known him for years because he knows me better than most anybody else. He is so trustworthy, fun, and sincere.

Hayli has proven to be such a good friend as I’ve gotten closer to her in college. She is always around to keep me good company. It’s been so awesome having a constant from high school to college to ease the transition. I love that we have high school friendships in common so we have each other during the summer as well as the school year.

Mitch is the absolute best at keeping me sane. He knows what’s up and isn’t afraid to tell me when I’m being ridiculous, but he’s also the best at comforting me when I unexpectedly burst into tears. I know Mitch will be a friend that sticks around for a lifetime… He told me so.

Connor is most definitely one of the funniest people I have ever met. He is always busy and lives way too far from us, but when I do spend time with him he never fails to surprise me with his witty comments and ridiculous (sometimes questionable) actions. There is never a dull moment with Connor Onion in the room. We share the fun in having unique last names (his definitely wins), and we like to refer to ourselves as “Hannah Cream and Connor Chips”… Get it?

Beth is so fun-loving and wild, but definitely has a super sweet side that I love. Beth lights a room up with her presence. I always enjoy the time that I spend with Beth, especially when her and Connor are in the same room!

Abbie is sweet and quiet, and definitely balances out the rest of us. She made a super boring class a little more bearable. When Abbie does speak up, it’s usually an extremely random text in the group message that sparks a hilarious conversation.

These ^^ are the people that everybody is talking about when they say, “college is where you meet lifelong friends”.