Friends are more important than your family, at least in college. Now I know what you may be thinking, I have family trauma, but no, that is not the case. But instead, I, like my other students, have difficulty making friends, especially in college.

In a college environment, having friends is like having a family. Your family (in most cases) isn’t there for you when you go through that character-shifting breakup, that test you bombed or even for that hilarious interaction you had.

We’re college students, hell, we’re people. We like to share our experiences and without our family constantly around, we need to have people to confide in. Now, whether you have a significant other or that hometown best friend, it’s still important to have local friends who are available. We shouldn’t always confide in just one person for help, instead, we need a community of people; different friends serve different roles in our lives.

People don’t get to choose their family, some of us are fortunate to be born into families where we’re bonded together and love one another; unfortunately, that’s not everyone’s reality. Luckily, we get to choose our friends and build our own community.

We get to select whom we share our secrets with, who we confide in and who we trust. You get the privilege of creating your own family in college, so be sure to be selective. We are who we surround ourselves with and it’s important to be mindful and perhaps even picky when you decide who you want to be around because ultimately it’s who you may become.