In honor of Thanksgiving, I’d like to tell the story that made me realize that my college friends are the absolute best. Without them, my third week of college would’ve ended a lot differently…
Before I began my first semester of college, I was incredibly nervous that I would not make friends, or at least that it would not be an easy task. Thankfully, I managed to make a group of friends that have improved my life in ways I did not expect.
A true testament to this occurred in my third week of college. One Saturday, at around 3 am, I woke up with sharp pain in my stomach. After hours of falling in and out of sleep, I decided to text my friends. Concerned, they asked me to immediately call the Whistler Center and request an appointment, but they were not open. My friends offered help in any way they could. Eventually, an ambulance arrived and drove me to the hospital. One of my friends’ moms drove another friend to the hospital, and she selflessly stayed by the side the whole time.
After a couple of hours of testing, I was diagnosed with appendicitis. My friends sent me kind and heartfelt messages as I was prepped for surgery. Obviously, I was scared as I was in another state and had just begun college, but these comments soothed my nerves.
I don’t remember much after waking up. However, I do remember returning to my dorm room because I was shocked at what my friends had done in preparation for my return. My bed had been lowered, and as a result, my room was rearranged to fit the furniture, a basket of gifts had been placed on my bed, and a variety of microwavable meals had been placed on my desk. They even bought me fall decorations for my dorm room.
My memory of the entire day is so blurry, but my memory of walking into my dorm is perfectly clear. And as I recovered through the next couple of days, each of my friends continued to check on me, to bring me food, to do my laundry, and to do anything else that I needed — without me even asking.
Their kindness and generosity are continuously exhibited in their actions, but I was absolutely blown away by their response to this situation as we had barely known each other. Thank you, thank you, thank you to each of my friends; you’ve already left such a meaningful impact on me.