This blog was written by my college intern, Rachel Josephson. I’m always amazed by the insight of young adults.
When I was younger, it was always very easy for me to make friends. I have always enjoyed just being around people whether it is meeting new people or connecting with old ones. I suppose I am what is known as an “Extrovert”- I get my energy from being around people, and when I’m not around people- I feel like I’m missing out.
I have had the same friends for most of my life- these are friends that I am comfortable with and that I have grown up with, they know almost everything about me. When we hang out we can simply all crowd over a bag of chips and dip talking about everything and nothing at the same time. Even though I appreciate them, after we graduated high school I was ready to move on. Not to sound harsh, but I was ready to experience different types of friendships than that that I had experienced my whole life, I was looking for something different and new.
Going into my freshman year of college I had this perception that your high school friends were from high-school, and that was it, we can talk a little bit but for the most part in college it was time to make others and I intentionally began to distance myself from them. Making new friends was not a problem for me, and in fact it was quite easy. I really loved my new friends from school, we all seemed to have so much in common and we were together almost all the time. However, going home for breaks, things were different. I felt as if it was hard to talk to my friends from home because it had been months and for the most part they weren’t a part of my daily routine anymore. I still appreciated them, but not in the way that I had before.
Recently, I have been thinking about what it means to truly be a friend after seeing something from twitter that a friend had shared. The gist of it said that in order to appreciate a friendship, sometimes distance is necessary, and if they truly care they will reach back out to you, basically saying that friendships aren’t one sided, but it takes two to tango.
This summer for me, has been finding out who my true friends are, and a realization that people change and mature, while others decide to stay the same. Although this sometimes can be a sad reality, it is just part of life. Originally, I had always thought that I needed to be friends with everyone, I was the person that made sure that everyone “liked me” however, I had realized that at the end of the day not everybody is going to like you, and that is something that I needed to accept. While making sure that everyone “liked me” I had overlooked the fact that sometimes I was doing all the work in the friendship.
Being home for the summer has really made me appreciate my friendships both from my small town in New Jersey, as well as my friends from school. It has made me realize that it is only natural for some friendships to dissolve, and if they are meant to be they will come back together, as it makes me appreciate the good ones that I do have. Even though that extrovert mentality of always wanting to have new friends is part of me, I realized how important to take a step back and focus on the good ones that I do instead of trying to pivot myself around friendships that may not be as strong anymore.
Rachel Josephson is an upcoming Junior at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD majoring in Communications and Business with the hopes of pursuing a career in the PR or marketing industry, who I have had as my intern the past few months!
Rachel is a junior at Mount St. Mary’s University, studying Communication.
Amy Schisler is an award winning author of both children’s books and sweet, faith-filled romance novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her books, Picture Me, Whispering Vines, and Island of Miracles are all recipients of Illumination Awards, placing them among the top inspirational fiction books of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Whispering Vines was awarded the 2017 LYRA Award for the best romance of 2016. Island of Miracles has outsold all of Amy’s other books worldwide and ranked as high as 600 on Amazon. Her latest children’s book, The Greatest Gift, is now available; and her novel, Summer’s Squall, can be found online and in stores.
You may follow Amy on Facebook at http://facebook.com/amyschislerauthor, Twitter @AmySchislerAuth, Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/amyschislerand at http://amyschislerauthor.com.
Amy’s books: Crabbing With Granddad (2013), A Place to Call Home (2014), Picture Me (2015), Whispering Vines (2016), Island of Miracles (2017), Stations of the Cross Meditations for Moms (2017), The Greatest Gift (2017), Summer’s Squall (2017)
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