“You’re going to Naz too?!”
The three of us didn’t even know we had even applied to Naz! Needless to say, College Decision Day was a pleasant surprise. But then our budding excitement was muted with a question: “Are you all living together?”
Without much of a conversation, we agreed that we did not want to live together. The three of us had been together for years in courses, clubs, and extracurricular activities. We loved one another, but we wanted to meet new people and have new experiences.
As each of us packed up our parents’ minivans and said goodbye to each member of the friend group, for the first time we realized we didn’t have to say goodbye to one another.
For our freshman year, we all lived in triples within three minutes of one another. Over the first semester, we met each other’s roommates and through our intertwined but separate experiences, introduced one another to many different people and opportunities on campus.
Over the years, it has been great to always have a familiar face to wave to on campus and a friend to grab coffee with. And when we go home, it is like we never left. While we all chose the same school, our experiences could not be more different. Between the three of us, we have participated in athletics, the arts, worked various campus jobs, and been members of many different clubs.
After finishing junior year, I know I would not trade our experiences for anything. While we may go a week without seeing one another, when you look across the dining commons or bleachers at a game and we all see each other, that greeting is like no other.
For the three of us, going to the same college and living separate lives actually made us all closer than we were in high school because we appreciate our time together more, and we bond over similar experiences at events. We began college seeking new experiences and friendships — and we each have done just that.