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There’s an unspoken pressure that you must arrive at college and immediately find your people.

Find the friends you’ll eat, study, go out and eventually look back on college with. We see it everywhere. Friend groups walking across campus together. Birthday dinners. Group pictures. Social media posts that make it seem like everyone has found their place.

And if you haven’t found yours yet, it can feel like you’re doing something wrong.

I used to think that way, too.

Before college, I was content with the people I had in my life. My senior year of high school brought me closer to my friends because we knew we were approaching graduation and our lives were about to change. Even now, many of those friendships remain some of the closest relationships in my life.

Then I went to college, and I felt like I needed to recreate that.

I wanted to find my people at Syracuse University. I tried. And when it didn’t happen as quickly or naturally as I expected, I found myself wondering if I was doing something wrong.

Then I went home for a break. Being home reminded me of something I’d somehow forgotten: I already had people.

I had beautiful friendships that’d survived distance, time and change. I realized I was trying so hard to find something I........

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