Once you’re in college and away from your family, your friends that you live with or become close with tend to become your second family.
What’s even better than your friends becoming your family is their families allowing you into their own – who wouldn’t want a second family?
My life revolves around my family, friends and their families. They all contribute to who I am and will continue to shape my personality until I can’t grow anymore.
My best friend Lauren and I have that relationship where we just walk into each other’s house and start looking for food. Lauren even has a key to my house.
I call her mom, “mom,” and Lauren does the same with mine. We attend almost every family gathering together and keep clothes at each other’s houses.
It’s crazy how someone you had a few harmless encounters with eventually becomes your family.
Lauren and I met on the school bus when we were 11 years old. She commented on my royal blue Converse shoes and I wanted nothing to do with her.
Today, I don’t know what I would do without her. She’s my rock and we’ve been through our awkward years, first dances and getting into lots of teenage trouble. Now we’re both becoming adults – although we don’t act like it sometimes.
Lauren will always be my best friend – as cliché as it sounds – but we’ve come to terms with having other best friends once we went away to college.
Over the weekend, I was visiting my best friend Kelsey, whom I’ve lived with since freshman year of college. I feel like it’s rare enough for people to actually like their roommate, but it’s more surprising to want to live with them every year after that.
I consider myself lucky.
Her family has been having some difficulties and when I see the ones I love hurt, I hurt.
It’s unbelievable the obstacles people go through just to find a happy medium – if they find one.
I’ve witnessed that the best people – in my opinion – are the ones who are tested the most in life. I will never understand that, but my hats are off to those who overcome their obstacles.
You need your family and close friends to get you through tough times in your life and I couldn’t ask for anyone better than those I have in my life today.
As the great Dr. Seuss once said, “I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, others come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m already, you see. Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me.”
To all who read this, don’t let a setback set you back. Instead, fight back.
This column goes out to my family, my best friends and their families.
COLLEEN LANGHAM
