I don't have any friends
I'd like to think that I live my life without any regrets. "Everything happens for a reason", "there are no regrets, just lessons"...blah blah blah. No! I regret not making the most out of my college experience and now I don't have very many (college) friends.
Yesterday I attended my ten year college reunion homecoming celebration (sort of). There was a celebratory tailgate hosted by the University that I missed (I was busy with my volunteer group). But I made it to the football game at halftime.My husband and I both graduated from the same University. During his college career, my husband was involved in the music department, worked on and off campus, was active in a fraternity, student government, etc. I was once told by his uncle that he dropped in at the student center and asked if anyone knew the curly headed boy that sang. He didn't give his name but was immediately directed to my Brandon.I was a commuter. No one knew who I was. At least that's what it felt like. I went to classes and immediately left campus right after to go work one of my many jobs. School for me was a means to an end at the time and that is all. I wasn't focused on making friends, building relationships, or making contacts. I was only interested in graduating in four years and holding my Bachelor's degree in my hand at the end. My degree would open doors of opportunities my parents didn't have in this country. I had to graduate in four years because the longer I was in school, the higher the cost to me.I'm the first person in my family to graduate from college in the United States. I was also the guinea pig when it came to the college experience. I applied to college, was accepted, responded to the acceptance, and showed up on the first day. There was no campus tour or financial aid planning. There was no excitement in the process or much discussion when it came to college options. In fact, I applied as a commuter having no vehicle, no driver's license, or public transportation access to my school because the idea of moving away from home into a school was absolutely ludicrous in my household. Our family would figure out the "commuter situation". There's a lot more to this story that I'll share another time.I knew when I went to homecoming yesterday that I wouldn't see my friends. Now, I'm exaggerating a little. I made a handful of lifelong college friends along the way that I love and are practically family now, but I'm talking about acquaintance friends. You know those people you suddenly run into and it's like, "Oh my gosh! It's so great to see you. I haven't seen you in like ten years; how've you been?" Those friends! That didn't happen. I knew that wouldn't happen but I told my husband that I wouldn't miss my ten year reunion and so we went.I saw lots of familiar faces. The weather couldn't be more perfect for a game in beautiful North Carolina and I'm really glad I went!When it was time for my younger brothers and sisters to go to college, I encouraged them to live on campus and attend social events as much as they could because I wish I would've. Since college, networking became a priority for me, mostly through a business my husband and I started and husband runs now (more about this later).Now what about you all? Did you make the most out of your college experience? Is networking a priority for you? Has it always been?