college, but faster

what i was told peer pressure in college would be like: friend: hey do you want some vodka me: nah i'm good thanks friend: wow okay loser lol look at this lame-o, won't even drink or anything. cool people drink. guess you're not cool now lol. you have no friends. bye. what peer pressure in college is actually like: friend: hey do you want some vodka me: nah i'm good thanks friend: okay no biggie, i respect your life choices *later* me, sad and alone in my room while all my friends are happy and very drunk: dangit.

i knew it was going to be hard to keep up with the people from home. but being away from your friends just hits different and you really have to experience it firsthand to understand. i'm a gen-z kid--i'm used to having friendships that exist primarily online. but i'm terrified i'm going to lose those relationships with the people back home. they're the people i've known the longest, they're the ones that know me the best. i have trouble opening up to new people (thanks, broken-friendship-induced trust issues), so i want to keep up with the people i've already spilled my heart to. and it's hard. it's hard when they're mostly seniors in high school, or still in high school, or whatever, and our schedules don't line up because we're both very busy. it's hard when i'm 2.5 hours away from them. i miss a lot of people. it's really hard to keep up all these relationships. and, for me, it's so hard to view this place as...