As you know, you will come across several different people during your time at Ball State University. We will encounter peers from neighboring cities and also foreign countries. And while our duties as students include getting good grades and participating in extracurricular activities, I often think that friendship is overlooked.
Some say college is the best four years of our lives, but I say it is simply the best time to meet new people and make friends.
As a junior, I have made many new friends since I stepped foot in Muncie on Aug. 21, 2006. Although I secluded myself and hung out with high school friends for the first two years of college, I have still been able to form solid relationships.
I have made friends by working for the Daily News, being on Hall Council and going to class regularly. But, recently I have made friends by being sociable and open to change.
So, this is what I have learned: Change isn't always bad, and we must be prepared for that. High school friends are awesome, but we must also branch out to others. Change should be examined, and if appropriate, embraced.
Throughout this academic year, I have learned the importance friends and colleagues have on our college experience. It is certainly possible to get through college without ever meeting new people or creating new relationships, but I can't see the fun in that. Even if we get a poor grade here and there or skip a few classes, at least we are evolving as human beings by introducing ourselves to numerous kinds of people.
By taking upper-level classes, I have been able to network with peers who share the same major as me. Consequently, I have found that these students have similar interests as I do, and most of my current friends are majoring in education.
This does not mean, however, that I limit myself. I have friends that span the entire spectrum. Some of the most interesting people I have met this year are freshman! Hell, I'll even include professors. In fact, I get lunch with my English 103 professor every semester to catch up on things and just chat.
So, if you haven't already taken the time to make friends at Ball State, please do! For nearly two years I sat around the residence hall rooms staring at walls and doing homework. But, I finally realized that college is so much more than that. If college is truly the best four years of our lives it is because of the opportunity we have to meet so many kinds of people.
My suggestion to all the underclassmen is to find your group of friends and stick with them. This year would not have been as much fun as it was without my groups of friends. Akin to high school, however, they are not going to be here forever, so value their presence and what time you have with them.
Most importantly, though, move out of your bubble and smile at someone that you may not know. Start a conversation and see where it goes. In essence, meet new people that you normally wouldn't talk to. Because that's how I have found most of my friends, be it a class, activity, party, etc.
One of my closest friends once told me, "friendship is the most intimate kind of relationship a person can have." I see her logic because sometimes we say things to friends that we wouldn't to our significant other. Simply put, friends are valuable and must be valued.
If anything, it should be easy to make friends because we are all going through similar trials and tribulations. As students, we are all most likely in debt or have little money. In addition, we are also away from home and miss relatives.
In a time of so much change, of gaining new friends and on the same hand losing others entirely, some things will always stay the same.
We are all Ball State Cardinals and in some way connected.
So, if nothing else, Chirp Chirp! For this is the type of friendship that can last forever.
Write to Jason at jsmarer@bsu.edu
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