{"id":44765,"date":"2023-02-14T13:18:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T13:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?post_type=cu_story&p=44765"},"modified":"2025-02-03T11:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T16:30:15","slug":"an-ode-to-friendshipsand-how-to-make-them","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/story\/an-ode-to-friendshipsand-how-to-make-them\/","title":{"rendered":"An Ode to Friendships\nand How to Make Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Your undergraduate university years are fleeting, but the friendships you forge don\u2019t have to be. We asked two students, Anders and Kiera, to tell us about finding friends at Carleton University. What we received back was an ode to the folks that made Carleton\u2019s campus feel like home, made challenging times easier to manage, and a snapshot of some memorable moments Kiera and Anders will treasure forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kiera, 4th<\/sup> year Psychology major<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I was lucky enough to meet my two best friends, Kam and Mia, on my first day at Carleton. We were all placed in the same \u201cpod\u201d in residence because we were in the same program. I was the last one to arrive and I was so worried about making friends, and if I would like my roommates. I ended up not having to worry about either of those things. The first few weeks of school were a whirlwind but in between the Fall Orientation activities and going to class my roommates and I quickly became close. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left: Kiera, Mia, and Kam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We joined campus clubs and rec sports together, and we coordinated our schedules so we could always eat at least one meal together. Pierogi Wednesday was one of our most important weekly events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most memorable nights that really solidified our friendship happened after one of the girls got sick as a result of too much fencing (one of the sports we tried together) and too much chocolate soy milk (one of our favourite pod treats at the time). We stayed up with her and helped her clean her room and her sheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afterwards, we decided the best thing to do was to do a chip tasting. We couldn\u2019t sleep at this point and had bought specialty flavoured chips earlier. So, at 3 a.m. we did an impromptu chip taste test. <\/p>\n\n\n

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The combination of seeing each other at such a low and still having fun through it really cemented our friendship, and it was a moment when I knew that I had found people that I truly cared for.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In the years since we met a lot has happened, but through it all Kam, Mia and I have stayed three peas from our first-year pod. We\u2019re all in different cities, but we still talk regularly. We still help each other in any way we can, and have fun together despite the distance between us now. The friends I\u2019ve made here at Carleton are some of (if not) the best I have ever made. I am incredibly grateful to have met them and to have them in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anders, 3rd year History and Theory of Architecture major<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first year for me was entirely online. Thankfully I had my roommates because the isolation and separation from my home in North Bay, Ontario, would be too much to handle otherwise. I wanted to feel like I belonged in my program and was terrified if I would make friends or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anders, a third year student in Carleton’s History and Theory of Architecture program<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was not until the second year that I had in-person classes. Immediately I noticed those who sat near me. I was openly active in class, both to learn better and draw the attention of those with similar ideas. Talking in class about topics I enjoyed made it easier. When talking to people near me, the initial conversations were about the workloads or other classes we took. The school-related talk then evolved into why we chose our degree paths and led to our dreams or passions. After those exchanges, we began to talk more openly about ourselves and each other. <\/p>\n\n\n

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I started to realize I was not alone. Everyone wants to make friends \u2014 especially after feeling lost, separated, and isolated throughout the pandemic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Later that year, we met outside of classes for school-related activities like working together on readings or project brainstorming. We were all new to Ottawa and made the most of it by exploring the ByWard Market, bookstores, and game shops. These strangers and the unknown city became familiar. Our hangouts became more frequent and started to include friends of friends and others from Carleton clubs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On one occasion late at night after finishing a long reading together, we decided to build a train out of gingerbread. It didn\u2019t matter what time it was when we were having that much fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anders building a gingerbread train with friends he made at Carleton University.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now I am in my third year, and Ottawa feels like home. My friends and I supported each other through challenges, celebrated milestones, and have grown as individuals together. The hardest part is staying in touch as we go down our separate paths, but we pick up where we left off when we get together. My friends are family to me. I love them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your undergraduate university years are fleeting, but the friendships you forge don\u2019t have to be. We asked two students, Anders and Kiera, to tell us about finding friends at Carleton University. What we received back was an ode to the folks that made Carleton\u2019s campus feel like home, made challenging times easier to manage, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[816],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-44765","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","hentry","cu_story_type-general"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/44765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/44765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44945,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/44765\/revisions\/44945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=44765"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=44765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}