“A friend in every state.” Although this is a slight exaggeration, it was a main selling point for me that SMU attracted students from all 50 states. When I stepped on campus my freshman year, the only people I knew were my roommate and the few friends I made at the Bay Area accepted students event. Many of my high school friends were going to school close to each other or even to the same university so I was nervous about making friends. I soon learned that many of my fellow SMU Freshmen were also far from home and didn’t come to college with a ton of high school friends. This evened the playing field and I can honestly say that the friends I’ve made at SMU have made me redefine friendship. Hailing from all over the country, I’ve loved learning about the regional differences in food preference, sports team heroes, slang and lifestyle. These are the people that bring me medicine when I’m sick, whom I study with until the early morning and explore Dallas with. I love getting to see where my best friends call home and the geographic diversity of the campus.
I’ve had so many experiences with my friends here from all around the country. My roommate is from Plano and it’s nice to be able to occasionally drive twenty minutes from campus to go to her house to make cookies. This past summer, I went to Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco with my friend, Alex. She flew from Dallas and I was able to show her my high school and favorite restaurants at home. One of my best friends is from Oklahoma City and in September, three of my friends stayed at her house and visited the state of Oklahoma for the first time. This past spring break, I stayed at a friend’s house in Park City, Utah. We spent the weekend skiing and trying her favorite restaurants where we coincidentally ran into more SMU students. I’m already planning to visit one of my friends in Charleston this summer. Whether we live near or far, my friends and I have had so much fun visiting each other over breaks and during the summer. As cliché as it sounds, I love knowing I have a fellow Mustang to visit in every state.
-Emma Barr
