Lessons from a Keurig
I step inside the duplex, the one I had been living in for the last year with four of my best friends, and immediately notice the new coffee maker in the kitchen. The duplex looks a bit different now with three new tenants. Two of my best friends still live there and every time I visit I notice a new way the interior has changed in my absence. I feel almost cheated on by that house before I remind myself that houses don't have feelings and it's not personal, Maddi.
My friends and I chat and catch up on life on the couch in the living room, the same couch that we spent way too many late nights talking on (I mean studying and reading lots of academic books, obviously), the same couch that we sat on and cried/ate ice cream while we registered for our student loans, and the same couch that saw many Saturday morning-marathons of New Girl.
We talk about the big stuff: interviews that are coming up, how work/school is going, the challenges and pitfalls of figuring out how to date a 20-something boy. But it isn't until I'm leaving that I realize how different things are between now and college.
The best part about living and being with your friends all the time is that you get to talk about every aspect of life (at least that's my favorite part). You get to come home and debrief about all the little things that really don't matter, but somehow still make up life. Stuff like the new friend you made in class, the lessons God tries to teach you while sitting in traffic, and the fact that nobody at your office likes cream with their coffee but you don't want to buy extra half & half to keep at work.
At some point, almost every important relationship in your life will transition from a small-moment friendship to a big-moment one. Instead of talking about daily frustrations and joys, you will catch up over big milestones.
"But that's the fun part!" I want to throw my hands up and say. "That's the part that I want. I want to know every detail and make inside jokes about stupid daily struggles with all my friends. All the time."
Life after college is exciting, really it is, but it also means that somebody else will be there to hear about their small moments. Somebody else will hear about their new coffeemaker and weird co-worker stories. If you're anything like me, it's one of the (many) times when trying to be all the things all the time won't work. And that's okay. I repeat: it's okay to not be all the things.
Whether you move across the country, or across the county line, the friendships forged in the chaos that is college are bound to experience a change after graduation. It's going to feel weird. And while a lot of times I find myself holding those friendships too tightly in my clenched fists, there's something really great about having someone in your corner that you don't see everyday.
Be present, and let them buy the new coffee maker. If it breaks, you're only a phone call away.
[Photo by Juliette Kibodeaux.]