When I asked for suggestions for letters, my friend Vaughn mentioned that he would be more interesting to write about than vegetables or whatever other V words I could think of. I quickly agreed because I didn’t have any other ideas and Vaughn is a cool guy, but it took a while before I had any idea what to write for this post.
Have you ever reflected back on your life and realized you were in the right place at the right time? When I first got to Drexel, I was pretty miserable. I had gone to school with the same people since Kindergarten and I suddenly found myself in a place where I knew nobody and I was terrified and alone. I had met a few people at orientation but not anyone I really saw myself staying friends with so I spent most of my time decorating my room and getting to know my roommate better (we definitely picked well – years later, she is still one of my best friends at Drexel). Anyway, during my first week at Drexel, I noticed the door to the next room over was open so even though I’m not the most outgoing person, I forced myself to walk in and introduce myself to the two girls who lived there, Sara and Sophia. Even at the end of the year, there were some girls on my hall I had never talked to but I’m so glad I was next to these two. One of my first times in their room, I found myself sitting on the floor with them eating macaroni straight out of the pot and I knew they’d be keepers – friends who like food and are willing to share are always good to have around. I’m not sure exactly when, but Sara’s friend Vaughn started hanging out with us a lot as well. Throughout the year, we had many great conversations over lots of delicious food. Macaroni (despite Vaughn’s #glutenproblems), fried chicken, pancakes for dinner, brownies (and batter) at 2am were just some of my favorites. Vaughn did (creepily accurate) tarot card readings for us and taught me the proper way to take a selfie and the four of us could talk for hours about anything. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I didn’t have such close friends in my building, but I know freshman year would’ve been a lot harder. It was so easy to stop in for just a few minutes for a quick chat or a much-needed hug. We didn’t need to go outside in the rain or cold to get to each other and pajamas were totally acceptable. We knew someone always had food if we didn’t have a chance to go shopping, and we shared our dining dollars if someone ran out. If I hadn’t walked in and introduced myself, I would’ve missed out on some great friendships and endless advice on life, love, fashion, selfies and so much more. These friendships are the ones I think about when I’m nervous about going out of my comfort zone- who knows what I’ll miss if I don’t? What introductions have really paid off for you?
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AuthorI’m Karen. I was originally diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in August 2004 when I was 10 years old. When I was working on my college and scholarship application essays two years ago, I wrote about my journey. Although it was a rough few years, it became such an influential part of my life that I can’t, and wouldn’t want to, imagine my life without having had cancer. I called it the worst best thing that ever happened to me. Archives
April 2022
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