Five Things You Should Thank Your College Best Friend For

As some of you may know, I am the Greek Life Blogger for Sorority Girl Thoughts. So, you're probably asking yourself, "How does thanking your college best friend play into Greek Life? That doesn't make sense..." and that, my friends, is where I begin my story. Your college best friends, not to be confused with your high school best friends because those people are incredibly important too, but your college best friends have most definitely seen it all. They've been with you through some of your most stressful and most exciting times in your young adult life. They've witnessed you change from a weird little freshman to the confident, leader you are today. My college best friendships all blossomed from being part of Greek Life. If I would have never joined a sorority, specifically my sorority, I would have never become such great friends with these people and my life would be entirely different. Oddly enough, one of the best friends I've ever had is from the same city that I am. We went to rival high schools and never met each other until we were in college, both in the same sorority. More times than not, I forget to thank my college best friends for all they have done for me through good times and bad. Maybe you lived with your college best friend or maybe your college best friend is someone you never thought in a million years you would be friends with. Whatever your case may be, here's a little list of things I feel are very important to thank your college bff for.

Look at the beauty that is my bff and ignore my strange choice of bat necklace accessory. 

1. Thank them for the times they went out of their way just to see you smile. I cannot tell you how important simple acts of kindness are in times of need. If it's stress from finals week, a break up, failing a class, losing a job, or just trying to juggle too much all at once - your college best friend is always there for you because, chances are, they understand your pain. 

2. Thank them for the times they were your biggest fan or biggest support system when you felt like the weight of the world was on your shoulders. You probably didn't even realize that they were giving you the support you needed or maybe you did. Regardless, your college best friend noticed you struggling to do all that you tried (and probably succeeded at) accomplishing. They took the initiative to give you an extra ounce of courage to motivate you just enough to get the job done. 

#TBT to that wonderful time when KTE and TKE were paired for Greek Week 2014

3. Thank them for the nights when you wanted to stay in but they made you go out with them anyway. Honestly, you probably had so much fun you completely forgot about the hours you wanted to spend binge watching netflix with no pants on while eating macaroni and cheese from the pan skinny pop popcorn. Thank your best friend for helping you show the real world that you're one hot piece of sass and a heck of a good time too! 

Spontaneous, unofficial Summer mixer with the gents of Kappa Sigma. (NOTE: everyone is of age)

4. Thank them for knowing your order at Starbs, Chipotle (or Qdoba for the Queso Lovers), Jimmy Johns, all-time favorite snack, or for simply knowing your favorite flavor of Gatorade. The fact that your bestie knows and remembers these specific details about you and can easily save you from mid-day hanger, starvation, or the worst hangover known to mankind, deserves an award all on its own.

Some of the best pledge sisters a girl could ask for.

5. Thank them for sticking by your side. It's not always easy, we all know that. Sometimes you're difficult or moody and sometimes your college bff is too. Friends come and go for one reason or another. Fights happen. Distance happens especially with this thing called "growing up and moving away". But really though, was there a class on that topic because I sure wasn't prepared for it to start happening. Thank your college best friend for always, no matter what, being there for you to give you a laugh, a hug, a snap back to reality (oh, there goes gravity), or whatever you need to get you through the day. At this point in life, real friends are so precious and hard to come by.

My big and I color coordinating per usual.

If your college best friends have all gone their separate ways or if you're still making enough memories to last you a life time, don't forget to take a moment to thank them for all they've done for you. 

What is your favorite memory with your college best friend? Let us know in the comments below!

It's Who You're With That Matters

Since I started my undergrad education 2 years ago in a city halfway across the country from where I grew up, by far the hardest thing to do has been learning how to live with long distance friendships. Whether you’re at home or at school, there’s always a group of bright, lovely friends that you stay in touch with through text, snapchat, FaceTime, and, if you’re lucky, good old fashioned I-hopped-on-a-plane-just-to-see-you visits. 

Now I’m really lucky because one of my very best friends from school has come to visit me in my hometown of Washington D.C. twice now in the two years that I’ve known her. Last year, Delaney and I spent days at the zoo, exploring monuments, and checking out the hip neighborhoods – all of those fun touristy things that I’ve been doing with relatives and out of town friends since I was old enough to walk. Really if you’re ever in town, hit me up, cause I’ve got an evening monument tour that I could give in my sleep.

 

Delaney and I at the National Zoo in 2014.

But this second year around, the tourist routine didn’t seem to cut it. On Delaney’s first day here, I took her to a street fair in which I expected browsing to take at least an hour, and after a 15 minute spin through we were done. And that was when my little bit of anxiety started creeping in…was I being a terrible host for not having planned more effectively? I mean Delaney was only here for a few days! And she had come all the way to D.C. from Chicago! Shouldn’t I be making every moment as special as I could?

With these worries in the back of my mind we spent the afternoon sitting and just talking. After a couple of hours of chatting aimlessly we stopped and looked at each other, realizing that my lack of planning and trying to make it special had given us a great day. It was kind of nice, even though we only had four days to spend together to just take those hours and chill. To talk outdoors without a computer or cellphone in sight. To not worry about whether of not the moment was as special and unique as it could have been and just be able to enjoy each other. Even though we were busy and had limited time and at first it felt counterintuitive, there was no more valuable or special way we could have spent that day together than just doing nothing.

So I guess my big lesson was this: in our busy and scheduled lives, we need to take the pressure off our ourselves to have every moment we spend with our friends be special or planned. I mean, in the end Delaney didn’t come visit to see the city, she came to see me. It was a lovely reminder that it’s not what you’re doing or where you are, but who you’re with that matters.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I've been in a long distance relationship before and that was  difficult enough but a long distance friendship? That's something that I don't even want to think about.

Nearly two and a half years ago, my best friend went through recruitment and she ended up with a bid to my chapter. Then, I had no idea that she would be my best friend, nay, my soulmate, but over the past two and a half years, we became close through another sister and since then, we've been inseparable. She's the one that I go to for advice on just about any subject. She's my rock. She's the best friend that I've ever had.For the past two years, she and I have served on executive board together and needless to say, we're inseparable.

She's seen me at my best and has held me at my worst so what do you do when the future is going to have you split up?


She's an EMT and applying for jobs as an EMT before she goes to PA school and I'm wanting to get a job in law enforcement for a few years before I go to law school.

The job market, as most of us know, is tight. There aren't a whole lot of jobs in both of our job markets within the same cities, or at least not in most cities.

One of my biggest fears is that we'll be split up and that we'll ultimately drift apart.

I recently shared that fear with her and she shared this same fear, ultimately leading us to have to work to keep our friendship alive, which I don't think is going to be a problem because she's the mac to my cheese, the peanut butter to my jelly, and the best to my friend. 

Even though I now that our friendship will never die, I'm honestly more nervous to have a long distance friendship than I was when I was in a long distance relationship.

I'm not the best at expressing my feelings but this girl is undeniably my best friend in the entire world! If anybody has seen How I Met Your Mother, I'm Ted and she's Marshall. We share the same thoughts and feelings, and in 17 days, we'll share the same graduation ceremony as we both receive our Bachelors degrees! 

When you're in a sorority, people always say that you pay for your friends. No, I don't and even if that statement were true, I didn't pay nearly enough for them and I certainly didn't pay enough for my best friend. There's no amount of money in the world that adds up to what my best friend is worth and I'm truly glad that she's my best friend and sister! 

Phi Sigma Sigma brought us together and nothing will be able to tear us apart!