Last summer I remember the only thing on my mind whenever I thought of college was: how am I going to make friends.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have had the same four best friends since I was in the 4th grade. Growing up we were inseparable, so the thought that we were all headed to different colleges worried me. At this point, we had all been friends for eight years and I was convinced I had no idea how to make new friends.
To my surprise, forming new friendships was much easier than I could have ever imagined. I was blessed to instantly hit it off with my roommate, Becca. We had so much in common. Most importantly, we were both afraid that we were not going to make any new friends. So we stuck together and made a point to say hi to every person we saw while walking around campus.
Before I knew it, I found myself surrounded by people that I consider my best friends. Coming from the girl who was convinced she was going to spend the next four years stuck in her dorm room friend-less, this was something I never expected.
After over analyzing for months and months, I learned that the easiest way to make new friends is to be you.
Alessa Strelecki is a college freshman at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa majoring in Secondary Education and Mathematics. Originally from West Des Moines, Iowa, Alessa was a participant in the Distinguished Young Women program and was selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Iowa for 2011. Learn more about Alessa here!
