When I first started attending FAMU, everyone told me my freshman friendships weren’t going to last forever. I just knew my pals were going to be there until the end.I was so wrong.
One of my pals went to a university in her hometown, I lost contact with another friend because we didn’t take the same classes anymore, and my long, lost freshman pal just dropped out of college.
She couldn’t take the transition from high school to college and called it quits.
Could their problems be my fault? At first, I thought I drove all of my friends away. But that wasn’t the case.
Unfortunately, this is a very common thing that happens in college.
First, freshman friendships end because of the situations people get into. For example, my friend that went back home to go to college wasn’t doing well financially at FAMU. She was tired of waiting for her parents to send her money. She had a difficult time finding a job. She knew she could get a job easier back in her hometown.
According to an article from youngmoney.com, more than 30 percent of college students leave after the first year and almost 50 percent never graduate. The common reason for this is a financial problem. A student may lose a grant or scholarship or find out their family can no longer help.
My other friend could not handle the difficult transition from high school to college. When she was in high school, her parents were there to make her study, send her off to class and send her to bed at a reasonable hour. When she got to FAMU, parties and all the handsome men on campus distracted her.
Eventually, she didn’t do well in her classes and decided to dropout.
Friends themselves may change. Significant reasons freshman friendships end are the distance many people encounter when trying to maintain long-distance friendships for long periods of time and trying to maintain relationships with friends once we get into our different majors.
When all of your friends are freshmen you all are in the same classes, eat together in the café and spend countless nights just chilling and reminiscing about the day. But once you get into your core classes, move off campus and start working, friendships tend to dwindle and ultimately translate into a “hi and bye” relationship.
When I moved off campus, I didn’t spend any time with them because I was busy with school and work.Just remember, college is a growing process.
College is about meeting new people and learning about yourself. Even though I am a senior, I still have a lot of learning to do and friends to make. If I ever see my freshman pals, I will still remember all the good times we had together, say hello and give them a smile.
Latoya Webster is a senior public relations student from Tallahassee. She can be reached at latoya1.webster@famu.edu.