Returning home for Winter Break and physically separating myself from campus before returning for Winter Session, I, like many others, spent a good chunk of my time reflecting on the Fall semester.
Out of the many trials (and some tribulations) that I faced, there were still countless bright spots that made me almost (emphasis on almost) nostalgic for the first four months of school. And when I think about those bright spots, many of them are filled with my friends, new and old, whom I was able to spend my time with.
To get even more specific, I think about the women who have impacted my life in numerous ways, some of whom may not even know that they have. This isn’t to say that I don’t value my non-woman friends—I truly do. But I want to highlight my belief that there’s something special about female friendship that I don’t think can be captured in any of the other relationships I have in my life.
Maybe it’s that their girlhoods sound so akin to mine, or maybe it’s the shared experiences of living under patriarchy, but I feel very strongly that there’s something deep that binds me to the women in my life. And I wouldn’t even go as far as to say that all of these women are necessarily my bestest friends—there are many that I didn’t even begin to befriend until last semester, but I value them all the same.
There’s the one girl who gave me advice back in October that, at the time, I stubbornly refused to listen to. In hindsight, I’m touched by her gesture. Even though she didn’t know me very well at the time, she still tried to look out for me. Another girl that I didn’t know until last semester has quickly become one of my most trusted friends, who offered me some of the best guidance for getting through a wretched situation. I still find her words incredibly valuable. And that’s not to mention the girls with whom I have deepened my existing friendships. From conversing over a tin of sardines and a bag of crackers to day trips to New Haven, I look back fondly on my many moments of happiness that are attached to my friends.
And it’s not just at school where I find these connections. There’s my childhood friend, someone whom I view as an older sister, who invited me to spend the night at her new apartment in Chicago over break. We reminisced about our youthful escapades in between playing board games on her bed which we would later share that night, sleepover style. She told me the next morning that I snored. I told her that she did as well (it was the truth). Neither of us minded. Then there’s my high school friend group that still meets together every break to catch up and share at least one meal together. After spending time with them, I rarely leave without thinking that I’ve never laughed harder. There’s my friend who gifted me yet another novel—her favorite—with her annotations written in the margins. And then there’s my friend whom I talked with for three hours and didn’t notice until I realized that the sun was setting outside her window.
At the end of the day, I can’t really pinpoint what it is about female friendship that makes it so beautiful. There are too many factors, too many moments that come to mind. In short, thank you to the women in my life. You all mean the world to me.
Julia Podgorski is a member of the class of 2028 and can be reached at jpodgorski@wesleyan.edu.
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