When I started to think about what I wanted to write my final opinion piece on, I turned to my best friend, Sarah, to see if she had any good ideas.
She immediately responded, “Write it about me.”
I laughed it off because I wanted to write about something that felt more meaningful. Perhaps politics, the importance of voting or my thoughts on the upcoming election as a political science major.
But then I realized — there is nothing more meaningful to me than the friendships I will take with me after I graduate from the University of Portland.
With everything going on in the world and all the crucial conversations that need to happen, I realized that all those conversations are the ones I have with my friends.
We sat and cried during Kamala Harris’s speech at the DNC. We watched the debate together and discussed it for hours. We send each other political articles that we come across and we support each other when we have those hard conversations with parents and relatives about who they're voting for.
But we also have wine nights while watching our favorite movies and TV shows. We have dance parties while we cook dinner together. We sit around our fire pit until 1 in the morning laughing at each other's jokes, and we sit on the couch rotting and gossiping for hours on end.
People always told me that college would be the best four years of my life. I never bought it. How could four years make such a huge impact on the entirety of my life? But now that those four years are close to an end, I have to admit that they were right. And it's not because of the experiences, or the classes, or the growth — it's about the people that I experienced college with, took classes with and grew with that made it the best four years.
I often think back to how terrified I was starting college, afraid I’d never make friends. Now, as graduation approaches, I’m just as terrified — but this time, it’s the thought of leaving them behind.
Since August of 2021, I have spent nearly every day with these people. They have defined the “home” that Portland has become.
We’ve come a long way from the timid girls we were when we first met freshman year. Our twin XL beds may have become queens, but we still pile into them just the same. We still raid each other’s closets, only now we’re searching not for the perfect going-out top, but for the ideal interview outfit.
The versions of ourselves that first met in 2021 still surface when we nervously talk about the next chapters of our lives.
But college has given us the space to grow and evolve, both together and as individuals. And as much as I cherish growing alongside them, I am still so excited to cheer them on even if it's from across the country.
I am who I am today because of the lessons my friends have taught me: Avery taught me to not take life so seriously and to laugh everyday. Lily taught me that being loud and opinionated is a strength and to always fight for what you believe in. Caleigh taught me to always take care of your people but to never lose sight of yourself along the way. Taylor taught me that when you're passionate about something you should always follow through with it. Liv taught me that independence is one of the most valuable skills you can learn. And Sarah taught me that family isn't always blood.
Not everyone is as lucky as I am when it comes to friendships. But if you are, take this as a reminder that soon those dance parties, wine nights and dinners will turn into weekly facetimes and catch ups over text. Savor every moment, because by the time you’re a senior, you might find yourself wondering how you’ll ever manage without them.
Netty Jurriaans is the Community Engagement Editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at jurriaan25@up.edu.
