We’re approaching Thanksgiving break, which means you’ve been living around the same people for almost two months. You’re pretty sure you know the majority of people in your dorm and recognize most of the faces in your section. You’ve met people from all over and bonded with them over grueling nights of p-sets and French toast at Wilbur brunch. Here are five of the friendships you’ve likely made so far:
1. Your roommate
They were probably the first person you met way back on move-in day. The person you’d been wondering about ever since you accepted admission and realized that you’d have to wait all summer to find out who you’d be spending the next year alongside. Maybe, depending on your schedules, all you see of your roommate is a glimpse rushing out the door in the morning and dozing to sleep at night. Or maybe the roommate gods paired you perfectly, and these last few weeks have been endless sleepovers with a best friend. Or maybe you’re in a single and gleefully pitying everyone else that has to share 90 square feet of space with another human.
2. People on your hall
These are the people you wave hello to while walking out the door to class in the morning and study with in the hall at night. They’re who you gossip with over the latest case of dormcest as you share a collection of snacks and rehash the most recent party. The people on your hall are who you’ll likely spend the majority of your time with, and, a month and a half in, those you’ve grown to rely on and trust.
3. People outside your dorm
Beyond the limits of your dorm are the friends you’ve made through other friends, clubs, teams or anything else. Having friends outside your dorm introduces you to the widest possible range of people. Maybe you’ve even befriended someone living on the opposite side of campus (it happens!). Making time to hang out with these friends shows true connection and compatibility because it likely requires a bit more effort.
4. Your RAs
Your RAs are there if you have a problem or concern and have likely become friends in their own right as well. Friends who are upperclassmen have the unique ability to provide guidance since they’ve already gone through much of what you are experiencing now. Plus, like all good friends, RAs are always there to offer you snacks when late night cravings kick in.
5. Classmates
Befriending people in large lecture classes is less likely, but if you’re enrolled in any IntroSems or smaller courses, perhaps you’ve made some friends there. Taking the same class means you likely have shared interests and can bond over the intricacies of thermodynamics or the complications in medieval literature.
It’s still the first quarter, but between dorm life and various classes, you’ve likely met some interesting people along the way. Of course we’re here to learn, but college is also about finding people who will shape your undergrad experience in ways that lectures and p-sets can’t.
Contact Elizabeth Dunn at eldunn14 ‘at’ stanford.edu.