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4 Reasons to Stay Close to Your College Best Friend

1. She knows everything about you (and I mean everything…)

That ugly guy you hooked up with first semester? Yeah…let’s sweep that under the rug and forget he ever happened. That one time you got your period in white pants? (Never ever again. I mean come-on! What were you thinking??) Thank God she wears a size 6! That time you told your mom you were too busy to talk but you really just wanted to hang with your crush? The time you totally cheated on your Bio homework? Those hangover days when you were supposed to be at your 8AM shift but you totally called off ‘sick’ so you could take four Ibuprofen, hold a cold rag to your head, and binge eat kettle corn while watching Friends reruns? Yep. She was there for those days, too. And the nights before, holding your hair back as you yacked for the 14th time.

She’s been there for it all—the good, the bad, and the Why-the-Hell-Did-I-Do-That moments of your college years. She knows your biggest regrets, best memories, most embarrassing moments, and darkest secrets. When it comes down to it, she knows you better than anyone else. So keep her around.

2. She will support you as you grow and grow with you

There’s nothing better than having someone alongside you, making the same dumb mistakes and making out with guys that are just as clingy, annoying, or obnoxiously frat. The great thing about your college bestie is that she’s by your side the entire way. Not only does she know you, but she supports you. She’ll sit by you at the hockey games and pep rallies so you’re never alone. She’ll be your wing-girl at the Halloween party when you really want to talk to that blonde track runner. She’ll give you her honest opinion on your I’m-Going-to-Look-Sexy-Tonight outfit.

And she’ll grow with you. She’ll go with you to the exclusive senior party and laugh along with you (and cry with you later) when you both get kicked to the curb. She’ll eat six slices of pizza and talk about life with you. She’ll gain the freshmen fifteen with you. She’ll freak out and then go on gym dates with you. She’ll grow and change as much as you, and you’ll be each other’s support system in this hugely different, but incredibly awesome four years of your lives.

3. She’ll be your first long-distance relationship (And she’ll make you believe in that whole idea)

College is the time in your life when you are suddenly pulled from what you know into new—new place, new room, new people, new classes, new interests, new freedom, and new relationships. Oftentimes you meet people that don’t live where you live (unless you’re a homebody, and in that case you really need to get out and meet new people!)

Your college BFF, typically, is someone who doesn’t live down the street when you return home for Christmas break. Sometimes she’ll only live thirty minutes away. Sometimes she’ll live across the country. But regardless, you’ll spend the entire break texting about the crazy drunk-at-home shenanigans, how you can’t wait for them to meet your high school besties, the amount of holiday cookies you’ve consumed, and how much you freakin’ miss them.

This is your first experience with a long distance relationship. Sure, it sucks (it will always suck). But you’ll learn how to take ugly Snapchats to give your BFF the top moments of your time at home. You’ll learn that communication is key. And you’ll learn how much you really love this girl and how much you value your friendship.

Little do you know, she’s preparing you for later life, when you fall in love with that guy who lives 508 miles from home and think, ‘Okay, a three-month summer? I can do this.’

4. She will fit right into the period of time when you need her the most.

You might act all tough when you unload the car and wave goodbye your parents, when you apply for your first part-time job, or when start your English 100 class, but let’s be honest—college is scary sometimes. There’s going to be moments where you’re homesick, where you’re overwhelmed, and where you just can’t do it alone—and that’s why your college best friend will always be the best thing that ever happened to you.

You became friends when you needed each other the most. You helped each other find your classes without looking like total freshmen. You learned the correct way to cook noodles. You learned where to go on weekends, what bars have the cheapest drinks, and what day the cafeteria has chicken fingers (the essentials!)

You learned that you can confide in her. You learned that you could trust her. And you learned that sometimes you’ll meet people and you’ll just ‘click.’ And you’ll wonder how the heck you ever lived without her in the first place.