Developing life-long friendships while in college

Making friends is easy through roommates and joining clubs

Steven John Ndikum
Staff Writer

In college, there’s a lot of diversity in many aspects. Such diversity ranges from social, cultural, racial, and religious perspectives. Coming to college for our first time brings a lot of excitement. Most students have separate and diverse goals, some want to the best from day one in terms of grades, some want to connect as much as they can to make their voices heard, some want to meet their soulmate, and others just want fun.

Ralph Waldo says, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” The goal is be yourself when you hang with people, don’t adjust your personalities or norms to please people, instead let people connect to you because of your diversity and you been a difference. At Minnesota State University, Mankato, there are a lot of activities created by RAs from Residential Life, which promote the idea of roommate which helps creates long lasting relationships between students.

Moreover, the presence of diverse departmental clubs helps promote students in majors to connect with mates, and activities they can connect with and create a lifelong relationship. In addition to the above, there are fraternities and sororities you can join to excel in social life and connect with people who can have a positive influence in your life. The goal is to be able to achieve at all levels. From work, life, education, and relationships.

Making Friends for Life

Developing lifelong friendships takes time and patience. It’s like building a foundation for a house. Sumner Redstone says, “success is not built on success. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built-on catastrophe”. Don’t be discouraged if the first couple of people you meet don’t turn out to be the type of friends you were hoping for.  You may need to keep on trying to meet new people. You may make friends with people who you wouldn’t have considered being friends with before. If you feel uneasy about the friends you have made, try to remember what you liked about your friends from high school. Keep yourself surrounded by good people who share similar goals to help you stay on track.

James E. Faust says, “A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.” Align yourself with what satisfy your inner soul. For that is what brings true happiness and connects us with the right people.

Living with Roommates

Sometimes many students make lifelong friendships with their roommates. If you have a good experience with your roommate during your first year of college, you may want to continue living with that roommate. You may also decide to live with other people as well. Sharing a house or an apartment allows you to spend time with people and really get to know who they are. You may learn things that only their families know about them like how long they take in the shower or what kinds of odd things they like to eat. Living together also provides opportunities for a lot of inside jokes, which can create even stronger bonds. You may also become closer when one of you becomes sick, and the parental instinct kicks in.

Joining a Club

By joining a club, you may be able to find people who share similar interests. Usually college campuses offer a variety of clubs like those that are associated with academic majors, public interests, politics, music, or careers. There are also fraternities and sororities at different colleges. Clubs provide an opportunity to meet people outside of the classroom, and the opportunity for you to get involved with something that you’re passionate about. Being involved in extracurricular activities may also alleviate some of your stress.

Feature photo by David Bassey | MSU Reporter.