For those of you who will be starting your freshman year of college soon, having to leave what is familiar and starting over can be a bit startling and overwhelming. Leaving the friends you made during your high school years and starting over can be intimidating and scary.
Even though you will be leaving the friends you made behind, you will have a huge opportunity to make new friends from the very start. There will be several other students in the same situation you are in so you will definitely not be alone.
While getting out of your dorm room and getting involved with campus activities is a great way to make friends in college, some of your best friends may be made in the most unexpectedly places.
During the first weekend I was at Otterbein, I met my two best friends, Hallie and Doug, in the most random spots. On the Saturday morning of that weekend, I met Hallie while doing a community service project (called the Community Plunge) during the early hours of that morning. The two of us started talking and the rest is history. Hours later, a bunch of guys were sitting in the lounge of Mayne Hall (my residence at the time on Otterbein's campus) watching the Ohio State vs Marshall game. I started talking with one of the kids watching the game and found out he was from the next town over. Not too long after that initial conversation, the two of us hit it off and that is how I met my friend Doug. It was in two random areas I met both Doug and Hallie but I made two of my best friends that day alone.
During winter quarter of my freshman year at Otterbein, I made some of my best friends simply because they took the time to show an interest in me. As a broadcast major, I was assigned to do play-by-play for the Otterbein women's basketball team and had fun calling the games from the very start. I had called games in high school but this experience ended up being a bit different. After calling a couple of the games, more of the players from the team started to approach me in the Cardinal's Nest (the cafeteria) and took the time to ask me how my day was going and learn more about me. I'll admit that I was surprised (in a pleasant way) these girls were taking the time to talk to me and they would always ask if I was coming to the next game to do play-by-play. I will never forget the kindness these girls showed me and by the time my senior year rolled around, some of these girls had become some of the best friends I had made on campus.
While a student at Otterbein, I didn't get a chance to meet many of the graduate students, however, one I met randomly became one of my best friends. During the fall and part of the winter quarter of my junior year at Otterbein, I had seen this one gentleman who was always in the library tutoring other students and riding his bike around campus. I had seen him often but never had the chance to introduce myself or cross paths with him long enough to do so. It wasn't until I was walking into Roush Hall on campus (which houses classrooms) that we finally got to cross paths. Mike and I hit it off at that point and I am still in touch and friends with him to this day.
Even though there are numerous stories I have on how I made friends at Otterbein, these always stick out in my mind for positive reasons. I did make some of my best friends in the most unexpectedly places during my college tenure and don't be afraid to let your friendships grow from similar opportunities as well.
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