It was 7:45 am on the first day of classes in college. I was already sweating from the 10 minute walk to the forum building through the 95 degree heat when I walked into forum 105 for the first time. I had a moment of panic when I took in the hundreds of other students bustling in the lecture hall and wondered, where the heck am I supposed to sit? I hastily chose an end seat in a row near the back next to a girl who looked friendly enough, and the chatter hushed as my chemistry professor began his welcome spiel.
My first college lecture ever flew by and I could already tell that I was going to love my professor. At the end of class, I turned to the girl next to me and asked her name, to which she replied Gabby. We chatted for a few minutes on our walk out of class and bonded over the fact that we were two of only a handful of freshmen in chem 112 during their first semester. We exchanged snapchats, as college students do these days, and parted our ways. The morning before the next class, Gabby messaged me on snapchat and asked if I wanted to sit together, so we found each other and sat together in lecture again. From that first day on, we sat next to each other almost every single class in chemistry, as well as walking back to our dorms together and signing up for a weekly workshop for chemistry together.
One time in the fall, two of my friends and I were planning on going downtown on a Friday night with my friend’s roommate and her friends. I walked into my friend’s room where we were going to meet up with her friends and who was standing there, but Gabby. I was incredulous! Once again, this just shows how small the world really is – the random girl I sat down next to in chemistry class on the first day and who I had become friends with was also good friends with my best friend’s roommate, who I just happened to be going out with that night! Anyways, we were both pleasantly surprised and had a good time getting to know each other better.
This semester, Gabby and I, once again, sit together in chemistry class, although it’s organic chemistry this time. Between Gabby and I we have pulled together a little group of mutual friends in that class who serve as a study group and support system for getting through the horrors of organic chemistry together. If I had not happened to sit next to Gabby on the very first day of college classes, I would probably not have the chem friend/study group that I have now, and, more importantly, I never would have known her!
I challenge you to sit next to someone new in one of your classes/lectures this upcoming week, and introduce yourself with a smile. Who knows, maybe a complete stranger will become your close friend!
Hi! As with all of your other posts, I loved reading about this one as well! I think this is once again another relatable but unique experience. I especially relate to how daunting the first day of classes was, especially going to Forum! This post also goes to show that sometimes you just have to branch out and talk to people first. I love how a great friendship came out of your interaction and I’m looking forward to next week’s post!
Hi!! I really enjoyed reading this post! Like your others, this post is very relatable. I’ve met so many of my friends here through the pure coincidence of having a class together; and I think it’s really cool how those random chances can lead to some of the most important friendships. I also really liked the way that you structured this blog post. It read a lot like a narrative and it felt very engaging the whole way through. Overall this was a great post and I’m really glad that you were able to branch out and meet friends as a result of these circumstances. Can’t wait to read next weeks post!