I won’t lie to you: my time at Penn has been very difficult. I have endured many struggles here, and at times I’ve felt very lost. My first blog post was a description of how hard it was for me to transition to college, and my most recent post highlighted how I’ve handled the loss of loved ones and friends each semester. However, I’ve also written in the past about the great support I’ve found through extracurriculars like dancing, and individual advice from my friends. The one thing that has endured throughout all of my difficult times has been the support of the friends I’ve met while I’ve been here.
I’ve made friends in so many places here, and I can confidently say that each one is vividly unique and truly incredible. Each one of them has a special talent (one friend plays the violin and another can create incredibleHalloween makeup), shares hilarious inside jokes (one of my roommates refers to herself as “Dad” and me as “Mom” – we aren’t in a relationship, we’re just two parents co-habitating), and has been there for me when I needed it most (from giving up a night out on Halloween sophomore year to watch 50 First Dates with me after I came home crying, to adorning my desk with motivational notes and gold star stickers to remind me how proud they are of me). There are endless examples I could give as to why I love my friends so dearly.
Through extracurriculars, classes, and clinical groups, these people have come into my life for so many reasons. Even though this environment can be stressful and demanding, I feel at home here because of the lovely people I get to see every single day. I really don’t know what I would do without them.
