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Rated ‘T’ for Teens: Friends leaving for college is bittersweet

By TAYLOR SHAFFER

This article is dedicated to some friends of mine. Specifically, two friends I’ve made in my freshman year. Hailey Renee and Rachel Crust are or have left for college. They’re both attending Slippery Rock University, and making their way through their new lives. I’m very happy for them and I’d like to tell some stories of funny encounters we’ve had.

Memory one was with Hailey, and it’s about our first Dunkin Run. Dunkin Run is basically a thing we do, where she picks me up and we go to Dunkin Donuts if one of us has a problem we need to tell the other person. She picked me up from my house around 9 p.m., and took me to Dunkin Donuts for hot chocolate. Neither of us are very good at being serious, so while I was talking about my problems, she burnt her tongue and started sticking it out at inappropriate times, making me laugh until I could regain my composure, and then she’d do it again.

I haven’t known Rachel for very long, but one her first requests from me was to send her memes. Google’s definition of a meme is “an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by non genetic means, especially imitation.” Anyway, she asked me to send her memes so she could send them to her cousin. I started and now she keeps asking me for more, it’s quite funny looking for memes that remind me of her, then sending them.

Another one with Hailey, a pretty hilarious one, is when I went with her to the mall. An Amber Alert went off, and I checked my phone for it. She didn’t because she was the one driving. I told her the details, and she laughed and said, “Did your parents think we took too long and send an Amber Alert on me?” Granted, it isn’t actually something to joke about, but we both thought it was pretty comical.

Rachel and I both do marching band, and she was jumping into people’s arms jokingly. I opened my arms and told her to jump into mine, and she did. However, when I picked her up, I found it so funny I did a full body wheeze. It sounded as if I were a 60-year old man who ate lit cigarettes for breakfast. I had to put her down to breathe, and my friend looked at me so weirdly.

These are the most note-worthy interactions with the two, and I’m so happy for them. I’m going to miss them dearly, but we’ve exchanged contacts, and refuse to lose touch. I hope this article makes them a little less anxious about their new environment.

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