Partners in Crime

Everybody tells you a lot of things when they send you off from your high school graduation. They tell you that your future has just begun. That your life truly begins then. They give you loads of advice about managing your money, and balancing your time between studying and working. You're told to socialize and make as many connections as possible. You're warned to stay away from 'those' boys and girls who might lead you astray, and strictly told not to party (too hard). So much advice is thrown at you from every direction that you're not really sure what to do with all of it. Most of it is ignored, and some of it is taken into account and followed to a T.

But three years into to college, and there's only one piece of advice that I have to give to anyone. Find that person/people who deeply care about you.

I'm not talking in a romantic sense (although, if you've found someone, then congrats. ). I'm talking about that friend that is always there for you, and that you can tell anything. Find them, and hold them close, because they are what will get you through everything that is to come. Because life is great, but it can also be daunting at times, and you're going to want someone to have your back when the world feels like it's turning on you.

But this partner in crime may not end up being the person that you currently think it will be. Friendships change over distances, and that means that you will find that certain friends just don't make an attempt to contact you anymore, and you'll get tired of being the one to reach out to them. And that's okay, it just means that you've changed. There will be other friends though. The ones who still contact you every day or every other day just to see how you're doing, even though you just talked the day before. Those are the ones worth keeping. Hold tight to those ones. And if you find that none of your high school friends are like that, then that's okay. You'll find someone, it just might take a little bit of work. But it's worth it, I promise.

I got super lucky. I graduated high school in high hopes that all I and all of the band members would stay great friends, and that I'd have my crazy hallway clan as well. August of my college freshman year came, and I hadn't talked to half of those people. The months continued, and I lost contact with almost all of those people. While that may sound sad, I don't look back on it as being a bad thing at all. Instead, I found two of the people that I care about more than anything in the world. Those two somehow deemed that I was worth staying in contact with, and I genuinely looked forward everyday to talking with them. I tell them everything. My hopes, my fears, my lack of self-esteem, and my most embarrassing moments (one day, I may share the tale of the 'taco hand' incident." They've gotten me through bouts of depression, those all nighters I pull to finish papers, hangovers, drama, and big life decisions. We talk about everything from our fears of what the future might bring, to freaking out over Gilmore Girls, to which famous women we "wouldn't kick out of bed." They put up with my "geek-outs" over the Batfamily, and encourage me to continue doing what I love. And I could never thank them enough for that. Words cannot describe how much they mean to me, and I honestly couldn't have made it this far without them.

So find that person/those people. You're going to need them. They'll be your comfort when the world comes crashing down. And they'll be the ones who will set you straight when you've lost your way. So that's my advice. Find your Partner in Crime. Find that person who, if you said you were heading out that day to break into an abandoned amusement park, would look at you and say "cool! When are we leaving?"