Griselda Chavez

Making Friends During A Pandemic

I wanted to recognize some of the friendships I have made while at Dartmouth because it's not as easy even for students that are on campus. This post is meant to remind you that friendships can still be made through several occasions, with time, and a little bit of luck and coincidence! 

DORM BUILDINGS

Your dorm and housing can offer a lot of support and opportunities for creating friendships. You have an entire floor that you can interact with and UGA's (Undergraduate Advisors, similar to Residential Advisors) and housing leaders do their best to plan activities for students to meet other members in their housing community. For instance, Allen House has hosted ice-skating sessions and tours to local Hanover businesses. I became really close with one of my friends, Ericka, because of our close proximity to each other.  One day we decided to study together despite taking different classes and since then we have gotten closer. During the fall term, we went to several events hosted by the College and this winter term we are living on the same floor which has made it easier to hang out! 

This was one of the numerous nights Ericka and I have stayed up to finish our work. We decided to stay in One Wheelock at the Collis Center.

In addition, although I don't have as strong relationships with some of my floormates as I do with others, I have still been able to find comfort in our floor. I have not had any issues with my fall or winter floormates and everyone has been super kind and welcoming to one another. In fact, for Valentine's Day we got together in our dorm's kitchen to make heart-shaped pizza and delicious beignets. Because you share a bathroom and living area, it is easy to bump into each other and have a familiar face to see around campus. 

Our floor was able to use this time to get together and learn more about each other!

FRIENDS' FRIENDS

Expanding past your own social circle and connecting with the friends of your friends is also a great source for new friendships. For instance, I met a couple of new friends through Ericka and we have been able to go ice-skating, cross-country skiing, and have a couple of dinners together. If it hadn't been for Ericka and being open to meeting new people, I'm not sure if or how I would've met them. 

CLUBS  

Although there has been a lot less in-person interaction for clubs on campus, there have been a few that have allowed me to strengthen and create some of the friendships I have made on campus. For instance, People of Color Outdoors (POCO) has been continuously running excursions for students which allows us to meet students from different classes and bond while being in the outdoors. This is how I was able to meet Justin and bond over the fact that we were both from the LA area and didn't think about bringing a water bottle to a lengthy hike and bike ride. 

Justin and I may have been a bit dehydrated but the view was definitely worth it!

 The Dartmouth has also enabled me to collaborate with other reporters and connect with people like Daniel through working on articles together. The both of us decided to pair up and report live on the presidential election. As novice writers, we were both able to struggle together and feel proud of what we published. He is an incredible writer and I am thankful for our friendship where we continue to uplift and support each other. 

Reporting live with Daniel for the general elections was so much fun! It was definitely tiring but the chaos and stress just united us and helped develop strong bonds.

CLASSES & COINCIDENCES

Solange's and I's friendship was due to a variety of reasons. We have been in some of the same classes and worked together for a while. We are also involved with POCO so we spent time going on some of the same trips and ran into each other. Our friendship has been built on several encounters and coincidences that allowed us to bond. 

I feel very fortunate to have met some amazing people and I can't wait to continue forming friendships with other students!