Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Opinion

Samuel Lam

As my final year at SJSU comes to an end, senioritis starts to kick in.

Procrastination and laziness have combined forces to overtake my life. I will probably do all my papers the night before they are due. I might just Wikipedia all my study notes. Job searching will happen eventually. But one thing I know for sure I'll do: I'm staying close with my friends.

Four years ago, I entered into my dorm at Royce Hall not knowing how college life would be. Where would I find my new group of friends? How could I fit in?

Only three people from my high school senior class enrolled at SJSU that year. It was hard keeping in touch with all of them while I worked to establish my own identity here at school.

Making friends through the dorms was the first step I aimed to take. It was easy, but few of the friendships lasted long - must have been the carryover from high school.

These days, many of the friends I've made throughout the years are out of reach. Either I just never made the effort to keep in contact with them, or I just never was that close with them to establish a connection. The closest thing I have in keeping in contact with them is probably a Facebook poke, and that's pretty lame.

I went to high school in Berkeley, the melting pot of free thoughts and uncategorizable identities.

Race, religion, creed and everything else were diverse at my school. But like most high schools, everyone tried to cover their true identity.

As I prepared to go to college, I was so different from who I was in high school that memories of high school easily and quickly dissipated.

I can't even count on one hand the number of people I keep tabs with on a regular basis. Some people are able to remain close with a certain group of friends. I tried, but my group of friends is more of a trio.

In college, there is no fear of identity. Bullies aren't around to bother you - that's SJPD's job now. A freshman in college could be older than a senior, and they all could be taking the same class.

Everyone's different, and that's OK.

I don't need to hide who I am here in college. I can be proud to say I'm different from the guy next to me, and that won't prevent our friendship from growing. People don't need to wear masks to hide their identities in college.

When I was in elementary school, I was fortunate enough to make friends without playground politics.

There were no bullies, popular kids or any of that stuff. Egos didn't turn away our friendships in elementary school. We were all friends, regardless of anything.

This past December, my whole eighth grade class had a reunion. Even after not seeing each other for eight years since graduation, it was so easy to reconnect with my old friends.

My high school tried the same thing a few years after our graduation. Fewer than 10 people showed up.

All of my closest friends whom I still have today are from elementary school and college. These friends saw me and accepted me for who I am.

In high school, it was a constant battle to "outcool" the next guy. And I just wasn't "cool" enough to be memorable.

I know friends from high school who still have that camaraderie after graduation. And that's great. But I'll keep close with the friends who wanted to keep close to me, because that's the kind of relationship I like.

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