Although most students come to college leaving their best friends behind, they say that the friends that you make in college are the ones you keep for life.
Natural intimidation is a common feeling among incoming freshman. Throwing these students into a mixture of thousands of new people, a bigger school, and difficult classes requires a group of friends to turn to. Not just any group of friends, but the people with five certain characteristics to help students succeed at Tyler Junior College.
1. The Party Animal
When most students think of college for the first time, parties are their common interest. The party animal is the outgoing, carefree “dance your heart out” type of friend. This person will help you ease your mind from the boring research papers and countless hours in the library.
“You don’t want to be involved in so much work that you can’t have fun because it can be very stressful, you need that time to blow off steam,” Dean West, executive secretary of student senate said.
It’s important to know that although the party animal can show them a good time, they can also steer the group away from their studies. This friendship should be limited to avoid taking advantage of too much freedom.
2. The Therapist
With college life comes unnecessary drama, which must be expressed to that one friend, the therapist. This down to earth friend is the one that they can vent to, receive advice from, and someone that can calm anyone down. The therapist is essential for all students to acquire because they seem to be able to comfort them during any overbearing situations. These students immediately turn to this friend to resolve their personal problems that can be much more exhausting than the average mile.
3. The Bookworm
The bookworm is that someone that is strictly there to keep them focused with the task at hand. This person will schedule multiple study dates, study for every test and quiz and bury their college experience in their textbooks. They live in the library, are the over-achiever in the group and sometimes even tutor other students. The discipline attitude of the bookworm will help their friends buckle down on their work so they won’t fall behind. They are the “brains of the operation” who can be very helpful when it comes to any difficult assignments.
4. The Social Butterfly
This friend is similar to the party animal, but veered more towards popularity and social media. This social maniac wants to wear their fancy designer clothes to a 7 A.M. class and would drag anyone to a school event just to mingle and laugh with others. This person is well known because of their contagious attitude and will make sure that their friends are socially involved. Every student needs this crazy butterfly to help them enjoy college and all the opportunities that being in organizations can offer.
5. The Roommate
This is that somebody a student may naturally have a bond with, but roommates don’t necessarily have to be friends. They might leave their clothes on each other’s side of the room or forget to clean up after themselves; however, they depend on one another. It can be as simple as waking them up in the morning, giving an encouraging talk before finals and bringing a bright smile and a Frappuccino to start their day.
“My closest friend from college, which actually lives four houses down from mine, was my roommate at TJC. She really, more than anything, was somebody I can just analyze things with and talk with,” The Coordinator of New Students and Parents, Jackie France said.
Not every student will initially find this core group of friends, but with time and digging through all the different personalities they may come across at TJC, these news students are bound to meet those five people.
“I feel as though they helped me through my freshman year because each one of my friends plays a very unique role in my life. No one is like another, which helps grounds me and allows me to be myself,” said Jernecia Price, the ambassador of organizations for student senate.
To guarantee the proper use of these five friends, students should not get too wild like the party animal, vent wisely to the therapist, stay focused like the bookworm, keep mingling like the social butterfly and refrain from killing their roommate.
By Brittany Weatherspoon
Student Life Editor
